The Seeker Within
by Myrlen
Summary: One person can change the course of history. One word can change the future. One choice can affect the world. But it is the choices we make that define who we are. The only question is, who am I? My life has been changed forever, but was it my choice? The world has made its decision, and so have I. I am a Seeker. That will never change. But I can change the world.
1. Prologue

AN: I had this idea years ago, then came across the show and thought "Oh. Well, that was a waste of time." Then I remembered my good friend Fanfiction, and all was well. The original idea has been modified to fit the show. Enjoy, ^.^

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><p>The Seeker Inside.<p>

Prologue. (Beginning to Episode 1, Season 1)

An ancient ritual, a chant as old as the earth itself, floats up the stairs of the underground chamber. Down many stairs the group walks, chanting on and on. Reaching the bottom of the cave, they take their positions. A trio of men, all with flowing robes and beards, stand in a triangle, hands raised as if in prayer. They radiate a mighty power, and it shows in the purple light that encompasses them. In the centre, a pendant hovers, a red jewel circled by a ring of gold. The cries of a fearsome beast can be heard, but the men carry on without flinching. They must complete the ceremony, else the world be consumed. As the incantation reaches its climax, a pure beam of sunlight shoots down from a hole in the roof. Upon touching the suspended amulet, the light changes, becoming red and shaped like the monstrous creature the men could hear before. It could easily be likened to a dragon. The light-being's roars grew louder, and it fights against its confinement in the pendant. Sweat brakes out on its captor's faces as they struggle to restrain it. The leader's voice rings out, powerful with age and experience, full of command.

"The beast must be imprisoned, no matter the consequences! Think of the innocents, and draw strength from their love!" With a final cry of anger and despair, the creature withdraws into its prison, and the amulet descends gracefully to the ground. The leader picks up the tablet it rests upon, unwilling to touch the beast's resting place. His followers pull up a stone in the floor beneath it, revealing a circular hole, a mirror to the one in the ceiling above it. The bearer of the tablet lowers his burden into the dark opening, and helps the others to cover it. At last, their work complete, the trio relax, panting with exhaustion, though it seems fate is not finished with them yet.

The leader drops to the cold, rocky ground, his eyes full of joy at what he had achieved, but none the less, empty of life.

The world was safe, but for how long?

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><p>AN: I will try to update as fast as possible. The story will follow the show, apart from the twists and turns I have added. Press the little button, and I may update faster! *Makes puppy dog eyes* Please review!<p> 


	2. Chapter 1 A Seeker Is Born

AN: Okay, I said as soon as possible, so here it is! Thank you to my wonderful reviewers, Star Time 101 and Janka. I hope this answers some of your questions!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 1- A Seeker is born- Part 1.

Dreams of darkness, of faces lost and people long gone. The girl tosses and turns in her sleep till…**_RIIIIING!_**

Groaning, the girl turned over and slammed a hand down on her alarm. She sat up, yawning, and glanced at the time. The clock proclaimed, in neon numbers, that it was 5:30.

Rubbing sleep out of her azure eyes, the girl gave an irritated sigh. "Why do I always volunteer to do breakfast duty?" She muttered to herself, before getting up out of bed.

She paused as she passed the mirror in her wardrobe, a thing she had been doing too often lately. Stepping closer, she appraised herself, noting the slim figure, full lips, and blonde hair, along with the blue eyes that were always ready to smile. You could see it hovering there, waiting for the slightest thing to set them off.

The girl shook her head, and opened the wardrobe, moving away the mirror. Why waste time looking at nothing? After all, that's what she was.

**_Flashback_**

_A tiny, blonde child sat at a table with a tall man. The man and the girl looked the same, save for the moustache on the man's face, and were obviously father and daughter. The child watched with interest as her father made a puzzle for her to do, sharp cyan eyes already trying to solve it. Adding a finishing flourish, the man handed his daughter the present with an enormous grin. "Try not to finish it too quickly, sweetheart. I can only make these so fast." The child nodded seriously, then sped away, a smile lighting the innocence of the 5-year-old's childish features._

**_Flash_**

_"Promise to come back safe, Daddy." The girl, now 10, whispered in her father's ear as she held him tight. "Just like you always do?" _

_The man stroked her hair, and whispered right back: "I promise. I will always, **always** come back to you. Never forget that." He straightened up. "Now, be a good girl for your granny, study hard on your school work and karate, and I'll see you in 2 weeks, alright? Maybe you'll even be able to beat me!" His daughter grinned, and stepped back to hold the hand of the elderly woman standing behind her. "I'll try to be good, but if I'm not, will you still come back?" She asked, worry etched in her young face. The man chuckled and nodded. "I'll call every night."_

**_Flash_**

_A funeral. The rain, pouring from the sky, mingled with the tears streaming down the 11-year-old girl's face. Her grandmamma lay buried in the ground before her, and the ceremony had ended an hour before, but the child remained. Now there was no one. The two weeks her father had promised to be gone for had flown, but she had lost contact with him half way into the second week. He was gone, presumed dead. Though her head told her to give up like everyone else, his daughter's heart remained full of hope. He would come back. He had promised, after all. A hand landed on her shoulder, making the girl jump, and she turned to face the men behind her. "Hey there little one. We're here to take you to your new family. You need to come with us." The child nodded, and took his hand._

**_End Flashbacks._**

Shaking her head, the girl picked out some clothes from the closet, and closed the door, throwing them on her bed. She remembered those days so clearly. Tears stung at her eyes as she dressed. She'd been passed around the care system for a year after, before finding a permanent foster family back in Ireland, where she had come from. The parents were cold towards her, but left her alone. Their children however, were a different matter altogether.

"Stop thinking about them, they're gone now." The girl hissed to herself, pulling on a short, blue, demin shirt. It was true; they were gone, but only for the term time. On her latest birthday, her sixteenth, she'd drawn money from her trust fund, and asked her 'parents' if she could go to the Venice Preparatory Academy, in Italy. The couple had agreed, if only because she had offered to pay her own fees.

Sighing, the blonde pulled on a light blue, long sleeved tee, before tugging a white shirt on over it, deciding to leave it open, instead of risking looking weird. Yanking open her door, the teen trotted downstairs, and into the kitchen shared by the foster-dorm. Time to make breakfast.

A few minutes later, a rumble, not quite unlike to a herd of elephants, was heard coming from the stairs. Scant seconds later, the rest of the foster house tumbled into the kitchen to eat. A choir of "Thanks Loki." Was mumbled before the unruly mob tucked in. The teen, Loki, just laughed.

"Same routine every morning guys, and yet it's still funny to watch you sleep-deprived kids try and wake up." As the children finished one by one, the group looked less like a mob, and more like a gang of children. 15 in total, they ranged between ages 6 and 11, and depended on Loki and the house Matron to organize them. "Jake, Tom, and Sam- football practise today so don't forget your kits. Do your best, and whoop the other teams butt."

"Course Loki!"

"Amy, no makeup at school."

"-But!"

"Yes, you may be 10, but it's still a no-no. Ben, and Janet, you're doing home economics today; your cooking baskets are by the fridge. Yes Ben, you may think cooking is for girls, but you still have to do it. If you don't like it, take it up with your head teacher. Andrew, did you finish your homework?"

"Yep!"

"Well, first time for everything, I suppose. Bring it to me before we leave so I can check. Jack, stop pulling Lizzie's hair, or I will thump you." A squeal of terror came from said boy, before he dashed upstairs. "Meg, Susan, here is the money for your trips next week; your names are on the front. Remember to give them in to the office when you go to school." The girls nodded, and rushed to get ready. "Max, you're in charge of taking care of Danny, Tracy and Becky today, be nice, it's their first full day."

"You can count on me Loki!"

"Good. Now, vamoose!" The teen gave a sigh of relief, glad to have gotten everyone sorted. Pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear, Loki went and woke the Matron, before rushing up the stairs to get her bag. It was a nice, dependable bag, a shoulder satchel, and it was one of the only things that the blonde had kept of her father's that she actually used. The rest were just artefacts and curios that he had picked up on his travels, and they were positioned around her room, keepsakes of a past life, now just holders of painful memories.

After brushing her teeth, and checking up on Andrew's work, Loki herded up the kids whose schools were on her side of Venice. The handful followed her, quite used to the routine. Due to pedestrian traffic, the teen was a bit later with her last drop-off than usual, and had to run to school. Even then, she arrived half-an-hour late. Racing through the hallways, she managed to catch the last of her history lecture.

"And that's everything you'll need for your exam." Cursing under her breath, the blonde opened the door. "Ah, Miss Lambert, so glad you could be bothered to join us!" The snide comment made her fellow students laugh, apart from one brown haired boy on the front row. He just looked bored, and strangely disappointed, as if he couldn't believe why someone would miss a lecture. He stared at her, with her messed up clothes and hair, and sneered elegantly. She was obviously not worth the bother. Loki sighed, and turned to her teacher.

"Sorry sir, it won't happen again." She answered in a monotone. The man in front of the blackboard huffed, and looked down his nose at the young student in front of him. "You are quite right, Lambert. It won't. This is the last history lesson before the exams. You won't get a chance." Satisfied he had won the argument, the teacher turned back to the group. "Pack away your things class, the bell is about to go."

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><p>One tiring school day later saw Loki pushing open the front doors to the main building. As she was walking down the steps, a black haired boy from her language class laughed at her. "Watch it, foster." His cronies sniggered, and some girls gossiping nearby giggled. Loki ducked her head, and hurried past. Looking around, she spotted the boy from her history class. "Hey!" She called, running across the courtyard to him. "Hold it!" She reached him, but he ignored her, focusing instead on the puzzle book in his hands.<p>

"Your name's William, right?" The boy answered, but continued looking at his crossword.

"Urm, yes, William Casterwill." The brunette looked up, looking at Loki with emerald eyes and a confused air. "Have we met before?" His accent was noticeably British, and of high society.

_"That explains his pompous attitude!"_ Thought the blonde girl, _"And his expensive clothes."_ For the teen was wearing designer brands, in the form of an dark old-fashioned shirt, and some tan cargo pants, finished by a pair of trainers. The outfit was both stylish and classy, and the boy pulled it off.

"I'm Loki." She replied. "I've sat behind you in history class all year."

The brown-haired boy stopped walking. "Oh, wow, sorry, I guess I never noticed." His voice was a bored monotone, and his expression held no regret. Loki, her temper infamous back at the foster home, grew slightly annoyed.

"And I sat next to you in maths the day before. Science before that." The azure-eyed teen was getting more and more angry with this snobbish young man. Who was he to dismiss her like this? Who was he to think she was not worth noticing? With a great degree of control, Loki calmed herself down. Getting mad would get her nowhere, and she needed this boy to tell her what was on the test.

"Look, Loki-" The boy pronounced her name oddly, low-kai instead of lock-key. It grated on her nerves, and she told her companion so.

"-It's pronounced lock-key." She sighed. "Please say it right. I don't go around calling you Will-li-aim, do I? No? Then please, say my name properly."

William glared at her, but inclined his head. He clearly wasn't used to being interrupted. "Fine, Loki," He huffed, exaggerating her name. "There must be a reason why you stopped me, right?" Would this girl get to the point already? He had things to do!

"Well, yeah," The girl admitted, shamefaced. "I missed the history review this morning, and I was wondering if you could tell me what was on the test." Loki ran a hand through her hair in a nervous gesture.

The Casterwill kid snorted, and started to walk off, calling back over his shoulder: "You seem nice and all, but I don't like slackers. Goodbye." After pausing in shock, the blonde girl ran after him, a mischievous idea lighting up her eyes.

"Hey, you like crosswords?" She asked, pointing to his puzzle book.

"It's an exercise to keep my mind sharp." The teen snapped, turning to glare at her. "You should try it." Though the tone of his voice was anything but friendly, the young woman continued to smile at him.

"If I can finish your crossword in under two minutes, will you help me study?" Her question held a challenge that aggravated William's pride. He held out the book, eyes teasing and mocking.

"There's no way you have a better vocabulary then I do! Alright, Loki, you're on!"

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><p><strong><em>(Under two minutes later)<em>**

The pair walked alongside a canal, with the boy staring in wonder at his now finished crossword, and Loki balancing upon the canal wall.

"I don't believe it." Will muttered to himself, glancing to and fro from his book to his new friend.

"With you tutoring me, maybe I'll actually get a good grade this year!" The girl declared happily, looking down on her amazed companion with glee.

"You did it all in 90 seconds, and you didn't even cross anything out!" William was still going on about the puzzle, shaking his head in disbelief.

The girl paused on her balancing act, looking at her friend with confusion. "I can't believe it took me 90 seconds." Loki countered honestly. Tilting her head to one side, the blonde asked quietly. "Hey, are you cool with this?"

"We made a deal." Green eyes met blue in bewilderment. Why was she asking this? The cyan-eyed girl waved a hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Bah, spare me a noble's pride."

Will grinned, and shoved Loki lightly from where he was standing. The girl shrieked as she slipped on the wall, falling towards the canal. The boy looked on with horror, the only thought in his head: _"Ooops."_

As the girl's waist came level with the top of the wall, she grabbed onto the other side, performed a swift but wonky handstand, and flipped to her feet on solid ground. "I now have deep respect for gymnasts. Thank god for after-school athletics club." She huffed sarcastically. Will just stared. She shoved him. "Oh, come on! Anyone could have done it! I just didn't want to get soggy. Come on, my dorm's right here!" The girl ran off, bag and hair out flying behind her.

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><p>AN: And there is the end to another glorious chapter. Or at least, I hope it's glorious. Review, and tell me what you think! ^.^<p> 


	3. Chapter 2    A Seeker is Born Part 2

AN: Another chapter! I hope that you people are enjoying my take on the series, but I have to warn you that I won't be able to write as much now untill next week end! I apologise a million times over, but it can't be helped!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 1- A Seeker is Born part 2

Will watched as Loki ran across the street, so focused on her goal that she didn't look for traffic. Fortunately there were no cars. He shook his head, smiling softly. It was a wonder that she wasn't dead yet, but then again, the stunt she had just pulled on the canal wall showed how she survived- through pure luck. The teen laughed. Lucky Loki. After checking the road, he followed her to her dorm.

The blonde yanked open the door, shrugged her bag off her shoulder, and hung it on a peg set into the wall. "Matron? I'm back!" A rumble that sounded miraculously like distant thunder echoed down the stairs, followed by the residents of the foster house.

"Loki!" They cheered, surrounding her, each reaching their little hands to grasp some part of her clothing. Sam, who had been recently appointed the rabble's spokes-child, stepped backwards out of the crowd.

"Loki! Can you help us out? We all want to go to the swimming pool, and we have enough money to get in, but we're ten pence short for the bus journey back. Matron is out shopping with the newbies, and the helper won't lend it to us. He says we aren't responsible enough. Can we borrow it off you? We'll pay you back, promise!" The azure eyed girl stroked a pretend beard as she pondered their request.

"Well….if you pay me back by the weekend, and promise to be my slaves for eternity, alright." The mass of children stared at her, wondering if she was serious, until she winked broadly.

"YAY! Thanks Loki!" They cried, dashing off to grab their swimming bags, before rushing out the door in a tidal wave of kids, some waving goodbye, others trying to elbow their way to the front of the crowd. Sam stopped to collect his money, before scampering off after his fellows. "BYE!"

William, seeing only a tsunami of children, quickly stepped out the way, his hair ruffled by the vacuum they left behind. Soon, nothing but dust settling on the horizon showed they had ever been there. "Phew." Muttered the Casterwill boy, turning to the embarrassed girl in the doorway.

"Sorry, the tykes can get a bit rowdy sometimes. Come on in!" She gestured for him to follow her, and wandered up the stairs to her room. When they reached it, the owner called over her shoulder as she twisted the handle. "Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting visitors."

The emerald eyed teen gazed around her room, a smirk playing upon his lips. "Well this explains how you beat my crossword. You're a huge nerd!" His friend span on a heel, wagging a finger threateningly.

"Now see here, Mister Snob! I am not a nerd! These were my father's. They're all I have left to remember him by. He went missing six years ago." Her voice, taunting at first, grew full of hidden grief. The brunette, not really knowing how to deal with emotional girls, decided to ignore it.

"Master Snob? Is that what you call me Irish, because I did hear an Irish brogue there, Loki. I am willing to make a deal, pasty Irish girl. Don't call me snob, and I won't call you nerd. Agree?"

The blonde Irish, just as she had done with the children downstairs, pretended to consider the offer, before giving the dark-haired lad a shove. "You've got a deal there, Will." Said boy started, and stared at the girl beside him. No one had called him Will before. Due to his status, he'd always been William. It was a nice feeling, being close enough to this girl for her to call him by a nickname. He could get used to that. The teen grinned at his friend, before fixing her with a disproving mock-glare.

"If we're going to study, we may as well study everything. History is two days away, so we'll start with the languages, seeing as they're first tomorrow." The blue-eyed girl beside him huffed, rolled her eyes, and sat with a thump on the couch that covered most of one wall. The brunette sat next to her, albeit a little more gracefully. "You do have textbooks, don't you?" The girl sighed, got up from the sofa, and reached into the attic-like space that was built into one corner.

"Sure I do! They're right here." William gave Loki another, tougher, disapproving frown.

"Have you even opened them?" He stared suspiciously at the books, listening with one ear to Loki's half-hearted excuse of: "Well, I haven't read them cover to cover or anything…." Before looking her in the eyes, blue to green, a fierce 'don't-you-dare-lie-to-me-stare', one that had worked well on others on previous attempts. To his surprise, the flaxen teen holding the tomes was barely withholding a giggle. Deciding that if he was going to go the hell, he might as well go all the way, he pointed an accusing finger at the course book.

"They're still wrapped in the plastic they came in." He said in his best arrogant snob voice, causing the desired laughter from his new friend.

"Dang it- and just after you made me promise not to call you a snob! Besides, I'm good at French- I'm practically fluent!" She sniggered, and did a ridiculous 'French' pose.

The Casterwill teenager shrugged, only just managing not to laugh himself, and looked around the room to look away from the Lambert's infectious smile. A bizarre artefact, sitting in the attic-space that his companion had drawn the books from, caught his eye. It looked like a mix between a cat, and something else…something otherworldly. Stepping closer, the boy tilted his head to the side, gazing curiously at the relic. "Hey, what's that?" He called over his shoulder, already moving towards the statue.

Loki looked up from her laughing fit, a tear of mirth trickling down one pale cheek. "Huh? Hang on!" She said worriedly, pacing over. Will ignored her. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, whenever she did or said something he didn't like.

"I just want to take a look." He replied innocently. The blonde was looking increasingly anxious. She didn't like people going near her father's things, that's why they were tucked away!

"Will? Wait, Will, that was my dad's!" She near yelled at him, her concern for the object overriding her usual politeness. The boy, in the middle of taking it down, jumped when she shouted, and in doing so, fell backwards. And dropped the artefact.

"Whoa!" Will cried, as over he went, his usual grace and charm disappearing for one vital moment. One moment that would change his and Loki's lives forever. "Owwwwww." He grumbled, rubbing his head, hair tousled, and clothes mussed. He heard the girl in front of him, her back turned away, looking at the remains of her father's statue, mumble something that sounded curiously like: "Hey, look at this."

"Loki, I'm so sorry!" He yelped as he realized what he had done, immediately reaching out to comfort her someway.

The golden-haired teen before him, however, held out a hand, palm facing him in the universal gesture for 'Stop'. At first, the Casterwill thought he had upset her so much that she didn't want him near her. Then he noticed her bright eyes were not bright with tears, but had lit up the same way they had when Loki was completing his crossword, not an hour earlier. The young Lambert knelt down by the shattered remains, and tilted her head to one side, looking like a confused puppy as she extended a hand to dust off something in the debris. Will, his jade eyes full of interest, hunkered down beside her, and drew in a sharp breath, for amongst the pieces of splintered clay, was a book, and a pendant.

The tome was leather bound, and of an old style, though obviously not from some ancient civilization, for it had notes with modern handwriting sticking from it at all angles. It was a journal, and the Casterwill teenager knew exactly what kind of person would own a diary like this. Looking closer, his green eyes grew wide with recognition. The symbol on the cover was strangely familiar to the young man, almost as if he had seen it somewhere else, somewhere before…

Loki, on the other hand, as more interested in the necklace. Its charm was a beautiful work of silver and green stone, and it hung on a delicate silver chain. The stone, probably malachite from its deep, rich colour thought the beholder, was set into a silver design of two twisting strands framed by two short, straight ones. It was truly a sight to see, and it called to the sapphire-orbed girl, till she picked it up and strung it about her neck. It gave of a satisfied hum that both unnerved and comforted its wearer.

In the meanwhile, Will had picked up the journal, and was talking to the teen beside him, who was still transfixed by the amulet. "This picture…. I've seen it before," He opened the book with reverence. "Leonardo Da'Vinci's sketches?" He murmured, almost to himself as he flicked through the pages.

The blonde finally brought her attention to the book. "What is this stuff?" She asked her friend, eyes wide with curiosity. William continued to turn the pages, his green eyes just as wide as hers.

"This journal is unbelievable!" The brunette continued gazing at the book in wonder. Cobalt eyes matched jade as they devoured the pages.

"They're like treasure maps, right?" The girl shuffled closer, the discovery of such an item eradicating her shyness. She reached out a hand, and took one edge of the tome, and Will let go, so each held a side. They moved unconsciously towards each other, amazed by their accidental unearthing.

"Sort of." The boy explained. "Do you have any idea what this means?"

Loki, with her usual charm and wit replied: "No…Yeah …Ma-aybe." In a cheeky tone, her smile widening at the thought of the possibilities.

William grew serious, and turned to face her head on. "We need the help of Dante Vale. He's a local expert on ancient artefacts." The blonde, noticing the change in her companion, grew calm, but a wary aspect entered her eyes.

"How do you-" She was interrupted by a tawny-haired man, dressed in a dark suit and sunglasses, bursting through her window, shattering it entirely. In a flash, Will grabbed the throw on the sofa, and used it to protect them from the flying shards. The man landed with a thump on the couch in front of the pair, a sinister smile flickering across his cruel face. Turning to face them, he raised a hand, palm faced towards the ceiling, and yelled: "Augerfrost!" A light, pale blue and full of danger, lit up the hand, glowing (if it is possible for a light to glow as such) with malicious intent.

Loki stared fearfully at the man, her blue orbs full of fear. "Who's that?" She cried, her tone reflecting that which lay in her eyes. The olive-sphered boy crouched protectively in front of her, glowering at the suit.

"Trouble! Look out!" He leapt away from as a sudden bolt of freezing cold, the same blue as the light, shot across the room, tugging the girl with him. She looked back in horror at where they had once been. The beam where the glow had struck was so cold it looked like it was smoking. A quick calculation in her agile mind told Loki that it was cold enough to kill, that beam of frost, if it was cold enough to melt that fast at room temperature. An unaffected part of her mind smiled at being able to complete a puzzle that fast, the rest of her, however, was chilled to the bone just thinking about it.

She grasped the arm of the boy next to her, but he shrugged her off. "What is going on here?" She screamed at him, clutching the book to her chest, watching with mounting terror as two more black-clad strangers walked calmly into her room, swaggering confidently.

The first man, hearing them approach, barked orders without turning round. "Get the journal. Use your powers."

Will hauled the terrified blonde to her feet, and whispered urgently in her ear. "Loki! Go! Now!" The newcomers were already charging blue lights in their palms. The emerald-eyed lad pushed her, and the fair-haired girl fell, ending up skidding along the floor between the legs of the female suit, and crashing into the wall opposite her door. The suits barely turned their heads, deciding she wasn't worth it, and instead sneered at the teen still in the room.

The second man raised his arms in the air, his hand glowing orange with a fiery radiance, which flung itself at Will as he bellowed: "Raypulse!" The boy ducked, and as the female suit shot a bolt of blue light at where he was standing, jumped towards them with a roar. As he neared them, the Casterwill transformed the jump into a flip over their heads, landing next to Loki. Grabbing her trembling hand, he towed them down the stairs and out the door, into the streets.

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><p>AN: I'll try and get the next chapter up by the weekend, but if not, it'll be on Saturday. As for the foster kids, I had to get them out of the house somehow, and imagining that, just laughed writing that. Review if you liked them! ^.^<p> 


	4. Chapter 3 A Seeker is Born Part 3

AN: Sorry about the wait, people! I had it ready yesterday evening, but my internet decided to be funny, and not work. *shakes fist at internet* Please, Enjoy and Review!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 3- A Seeker is Born part 3

They ran.

Through winding streets, and narrow alleyways, pursed by the suits at every turn, the pair ran for their lives. Loki held the book tight to her chest, gasping for breath, her other hand clutching onto Will's till her bones creaked. A brief thought flickered across her mind: "Once again, thank god for athletics class!" Trusting the boy tugging her along to guide her, the blonde risked a look behind her. If she hadn't been clamping it shut to make sure she didn't scream, her mouth would have dropped open in surprise.

Whilst the long-haired man that had been running after them was, well, running, the female however… Her legs were glowing with the same strange light as the frost-beam, and she was leaping from building to building, like some grotesque spider. If the blue-eyed girl was scared before, she was terrified now. "Are these guys even _human_?" She shouted in panic.

Panicking, and feeling the primal urge to escape the predators chasing her, the instincts of all prey, the blonde upped her speed, and felt a jerk on her arm, making her stumble. It was Will, pulling her down another side street. "This way!" He called, dragging her along. Loki was glad he did, for soon after, she felt a searing heat streak past her cheek, ruffling her hair as it passed. As she legged it down the alley, she felt a rush of air, and heard an almighty 'BOOM'. The suits had blown up the dustbin she had been running past.

The sapphire-orbed girl stifled a gasp of dismay as the end of the alleyway was blocked by two, massive, muscular men, both wearing suits and shades. One grinned evilly, knowing they were cornered. Loki was inclined to agree with him. "Oh no! There's even more of them!" She panted to her friend; as he slowed to a halt, head flicking back and forth between the rock and the hard place. Nodding decisively, his face set with determination.

"We have to split up. I'll lead them off, you get that book to Dante Vale!" Will commanded. The blonde's eyes widened in horror.

"Will, you can't!" She pleaded, sure he would get hurt. The boy shook his head; his mind made up, and began to run down the alleyway in the direction of the two male suits.

"No time! Follow my lead!" He called back over his shoulder. The Lambert, reluctantly, began to run after him. The two suits slid into fighting stances, their smiles broadened as they saw their quarry run towards them willingly. Will turned his head slightly to speak to Loki as they ran. "I'm going to give you a leg up!" He bent in front of her, and made a step with his hands. Not caring if people saw up her skirt, more concerned with not getting killed, the girl placed one foot on his hands, and was flung up in the air as her 'step' lifted his arms.

"Whoa!" She yelped as she flew through the air, mentally screaming as she neared the ground. How was she meant to land? Opting for the landing she used for the bar at gymnastics, she tucked, and rolled, before scrambling to her feet, expecting to see Will dropping gracefully to his feet beside her. Instead, when she turned around, her eyes grew huge with terror, seeing the brunette struggling with the two suits that had been blocking their path.

"William, no!" She shrieked, clutching the book to her chest, afraid to go and help.

"I can take care of myself! Go!" He bellowed, wanting her to flee whilst she had the chance. After all they had been through in the past hours, he considered her a friend now, even though they had been strangers at the start of the day.

"Are you crazy? I'm not leaving you here! I-" She was interrupted by the furious Casterwill.

"Shut up!" He roared, jerking free of one suit, only to grab his arm to stop him running after Loki. It was now obvious that _William_ was keeping the _suits_ there, rather than the suits keeping _him_ there. "They're not after me, they're after the journal! You have to protect it."

Hearing footsteps behind her, the tawny-haired girl spun around, hoping to see people who could help. Her heart fell as she recognised the suits from her dorm. She whipped her head around to look at Will once more, her eyes round and pleading him to fight free and come with her, not wanting to be alone against them, but the boy was glaring fiercely at her. "Loki! Run!" Loki nodded once, then turned and fled.

Once she was out of sight, the jade-eyed boy turned on the suits. "When I said I could take care of myself, I meant it!" He span on a heel, striking at the first suit's knee with a foot, causing it to buckle, before using a judo throw to toss him into his partner. The pair slammed into the wall, and slid down it like a couple of raindrops, to sprawl in a dazed and groaning puddle on the floor. Their captive-turned-attacker shot a grim smile of victory at the twosome, lighting his emerald eyes with a wild and dangerous fire, and then sped off to find a place to plan out his next move.

* * *

><p>Thinking desperately as she pelted through the streets and back-alleys, Loki tried to think of a place to hide, or somewhere she could find Dante Vale's address. Trying to look at it like she would a puzzle, the blonde made a list of everything she knew about the people in suits.<p>

They wanted the book.

They were willing to kill for it.

That meant that was critical that they didn't get the book.

Their 'magic powers' meant they had to hide from the public.

Hide from the public, hey? The azure-eyed teen smiled happily at the answer to her problems. She had to hide in plain sight, amongst the public! Pausing to catch her breath, and to figure out where she was, the girl's smiled widened as she realized just how close she once to one extremely public place. San Marco's Basilica!

The blonde raced to her destination, straightening herself up before stepping round the corner into view. She acted calm, as if she belonged there, trying to fit in with the many crowds of sightseers. Getting closer to the building, she hid in the shadows between the golden pillars that made up the front of the cathedral. Spotting the original suits from the foster house, she sprinted past two pillars to hide behind a third, spying on the suits from her unseen vantage point. "The little squirt went this way." She heard the redheaded female snarl at the longhaired male. They both passed by, not noticing that their prey was mere meters away, grinning at them. Looking back the way she had come, Loki wondered where her friend was. "I hope Will's okay…"

* * *

><p>On a rooftop not far from the church, Will was just setting down after jumping up from the street below. His legs, just as the red-haired suit's had done, were glowing blue, and he almost seemed to fly. Sitting down with a thump, the light that covered the Casterwill's legs went out, and the boy patted them as one would pat the neck of a trusted steed. "Well, I guess that's enough of that. Now," he pondered, his forehead furrowing with concentration, "That drawing…. Where have I seen that image before?" Closing his eyes, Will waited for a memory to surface. A scene flickered across his mind, and the boy gasped. Fire; fire everywhere, so scared, so very scared, and a terrible feeling of being alone. The memory came from when he was 5, and his house was burning down around him. A young voice rose above the noise of crackling flames. "Mommy? Daddy?" The young-Will whimpered in fear as he stepped backwards away from the fire. What did this have to do with the image on the book's cover? Wait, there, above the doorframe! Set into the wood, bordered by complex designs, was the symbol. Emerald eyes snapping open, the lad asked himself in confusion, "What…was…that?" He looked away, towards the horizon, and then stood up, legs still shaking with tiny tremors. "I'd better find Loki, fast!"<p>

* * *

><p>Said girl was currently sitting on one of the Basilica's many balconies, legs dangling over the edge, the book opened on her lap. She had decided to find out what this whole fiasco was about, and read the dammed book that had set it off. She read passages here and there out loud, trying to decipher their meaning. "The ancient Amulet of Will sleeps with the Golem…Whatever an amulet is." She muttered to herself, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. The book was making no sense, and talking utter nonsense! Why would anyone be interested in this?<p>

Turning the page, the teen gasped, vaguely recognising a few designs here and there. "What are the titans?" The word felt strange upon her tongue, like something that was old when man first walked the earth, but it felt at place there, as if she was meant to say it. But how was that even possible?

The girl jumped as a strange, hoarse voice reached her ears. "What have you got there, friend?" It asked.

The blue-eyed Lambert swung around, straddling the railing of the balcony. "Who's there? Who said that?" Her voice held a note of panic.

"Just looking for someone to talk to." The voice replied. Loki got of the railing, feet spread apart, ready to fight. "Those goons were on your back, so I figured you for a friend." It continued. Though she looked all around, the blonde could not find the owner of the voice.

"If not liking those psychos is all it takes, then we'll get along just fine." She spat, and was genuinely surprised when the voice sounded pleased that she would be its friend.

"Great!" It cried. Loki, ever the trickster, decided to find her 'friend'.

"I could use a friend about now, could you come out?" She called, her voice soft and pleading. Sounding upset, the voice explained that, although it wanted to, everyone would get mad. Whoever everyone was. It also said that it wasn't supposed to be about during the daylight. The blonde shook her head.

"I must be hearing things." She said, walking along the balcony, hoping to catch a glimpse of the voice. Unbeknownst to her, on the lip of a column behind her, a small, strange animal sat. It was white, about the size of a cat, with long ears, wings and a tail. It looked like a mix between a rabbit, lion and cat, and was odd indeed. It laughed, revealing itself as the owner of the hoarse voice, and crept along the columns after the girl in front of it.

"Friend, is it true you know nothing of amulets?" Its accent was strange; partly Celtic, partly something else, and it said the word as am-oo-lets. Loki picked up on it, subconsciously filing it away for later use.

"Yeah, what's so weird about that?" She answered honestly. The creature tilted its head, unseen by the blonde teen.

"Well," it explained. "You have one around your neck." Frowning in confusion, the girl pulled it out from under her shirt, and stared at its bizarre design. The animal went on. "Tell you what, next time there's trouble, concentrate on that amulet,"-Again the accent showed- "Maybe it will look after you some!" The Lambert nodded to herself, deciding the strange symbol of the necklace was probably some sort of protective mark.

Thinking that if the voice knew about the pendant, it would probably know about what was with it, she asked it about the book in her hand, lifting it up so the voice, wherever it was coming from, could see. "What I really want to know about is this journal. Seen it before?" There was a thoughtful silence before the thing responded.

"No, can't say I have. Check the inside front cover." Cerulean-eyes frowned in confusion.

"What about it?" She wondered, examining the book in front of her. The creature was quick to explain.

"It's a common thing to write names there, or so I've heard." Understanding, the teen flicked through the book to the right page, and stopped to read with amazement. Her eyes welled up with helpless tears, as she read the signature scrawled on the page, beneath a drawing of the amulet around her neck, and a picture of a smiling 10-year-old with fair hair, and bright blue eyes. Though the photo was in black and white, Loki knew that child as well as she knew herself- it _was_ her! This was one of the pictures her father had taken before he disappeared, the latest one in fact. She had just finished her hardest puzzle yet, and had rushed to show him.

"Dad?" She whispered, scarcely believing her eyes. A single tear of unimaginable grief rolled down her pale cheek. "This really is his journal? But he's been missing for six years! He really wrote this?" She didn't expect the voice to answer.

"Aye, that's a sad, sad- Look out!" It screamed, as the wall above the Lambert's head was blasted by one of the frost-beams. The blonde cried out, throwing up an arm to protect herself from falling shards.

"Oh no!" She moaned, and looked down and around, trying to spot her attackers. They were nearby, on top of a roof, the original three suits, the tawny-haired, the redhead, and the longhaired man.

"Augerfrost!" The leader yelled, his hand lighting up with an orb of blue energy. The azure-eyed girl leapt of the railing where she was sitting, and raced along the balcony. Seeing nowhere else to run, she narrowed her eyes in determination.

"Here goes!" She thought to herself, running full pelt towards the end of the platform. Putting on foot on the railing, she pushed off into space. "Whoa!" She hissed, as she went flying through the air for the second time today. Seeing the edge get closer with every passing second, the girl scrunched her eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see the ground rush up to meet her. In doing so, she missed the sight of her father's amulet glowing green, and the glow spreading to encompass her entire body. Because her eyes were shut, she didn't see the way the light made her float to the roof.

Loki opened her eyes as she felt her feet touch down, just in time to catch a glimpse of the glow as it went out. "Huh?" She whispered in confusion. Looking at her hands and around her in a daze, the girl wondered how she had jumped that far. As she turned to see the distance she had jumped, the blonde saw all three suit's legs glow with an icy blue light, as they leapt after her. She began to run once more. The cyan-eyed girl launched herself of the rooftop again, aiming for a nearby roof. The amulet, however, had other ideas.

"Whoa!" The teen cried, as she ran through the air, her legs glowing green. She flew across the square, hitting a wall with a yelp. The amulet pushed her away again, sending her soaring back over the square, its passenger scarcely managing to control where she was going. "I don't believe it!" She pushed off from a chimney, and began to descend, using a fountainhead to guide her fall. The flaxen haired girl landed on a bridge, and stared about her with amazement. "What's happening to me?" She murmured, scared beyond belief.

"Kid, give me the book!" It was the redhead, blocking one end of the bridge. Spinning round, the cobalt-orbed teen found herself trapped, with the longhaired man guarding the other end. She shifted nervously from foot to foot, clasping the book tight to her chest. The tawny haired man landed next to her, his legs still glowing from using the jumping power, and whipped a hand towards her stomach. In stepping back to dodge the blow, Loki dropped the book.

Over the side of the bridge.

Towards the water.

"My Dad's journal!" She screamed, fighting the man to get to it first. Being held back, she could only reach out a hand towards it, impossibly far away, and pray that it be safe. She thought of the page with her picture, and her father's signature, and how she had to protect it, had to keep it safe. The thought shimmered through her brain in a wave of blue-grey mist. The same mist surrounded her fingertips and, just before it hit the water, the book. Too caught up in her grief, Loki didn't notice that, and lost all hope of the book surviving its swim. "Nooo!"

Anger filled the young woman, turning her eyes to blazing fires, and her fear to iron strength. She lashed out, randomly hitting her captor, and caught his nose with a right-hook. As he bent double to stem the blood, the girl jumped over the side, and into the canal.

On the bridge, the trio of suits gathered round the air bubbles sprouting from her dive, and muttered amongst each other. "She disappeared!" The woman hissed disappointedly. "Now what'd we do?"

"We report to Defoe. Come on." The fair-haired leader snapped, before turning to stride away.

* * *

><p>In a secluded area of warehouses on the other side of the city, a huge group of suits gather by three black sedans. A greasy, lanky man, with long, brown hair tied in a ponytail, the obvious leader, dressed in a navy grey suit, with a reddish shirt, was crouched by the canal, sneering into the dark waters. His eyes were cold behind his yellow-tinted glasses, and he talked to a large, blonde-haired, blue-eyed minion in military getup standing behind him. "Ah, the waterways of Venice. Aren't they breath-taking, Grier?" The man's voice grew thick with hatred. "And yet, my old enemy, Dante Vale, set up shop around here. Once we wrap this mission, why don't we pay him a visit?" The oily man stood, and turned to face his subordinate.<p>

"Sir, yes sir, if those are your orders, consider it done." The blonde replied with military strictness, his voice deep and slow. The leader gave a nasty smile.

"Excellent. I think you'll do quite well…In the Organization." The slimy male said the name with such importance; it was obviously a name, not just a noun.

The sounds of running feet, and panting breath, reached the pair, and the trio that had been chasing Loki not ten minutes before ran up to their boss. "Defoe! Sir!" Defoe glared at them, before ordering them to report. "The girl jumped into a canal, sir." The tawny-haired man answered.

"And?"

"We lost her." Defoe's anger was swift, and violent.

"You what? Five elite Organization suits can't corner one punk kid?" He snapped, and the suits flinched as if they had been hit.

"We apologise sir, it won't happen again." They all looked scared, and the longhaired male looked like he wanted to run.

"You're right, it won't! No more taking chances. I'm authorizing you to use your amulets." The redhead looked shocked, and reluctantly voiced her opinion.

"But sir, what is there are witnesses." Defoe glowered at her, before responding in a fierce bark.

"We'll worry about clean up later. Find the girl!" Thinking it wise to get back in his master's good books, the tawny male spoke up.

"Sir, there's one other thing. A boy was with her, he gave us some resistance." Defoe smiled sinisterly.

"Oh, really." He gestured to Grier, the blonde. "Have these two go interrogate him, he might be useful." The minion stood like a robot, surveying the troops.

"Well, you have your orders. Now, move out!" The gathered suits saluted, crying 'Yes sir', before scuttling.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a canal not far from the bridge where she had dived in, Loki was surfacing. First came bubbles, then the book, held tightly in the hand that followed. The owner of both the hand and the book soon emerged fully. Swimming over to some steps set into the canal wall nearby, the soggy girl crawled out, sat down, and opened the book with horror, eyes wide.<p>

The book was ruined. The ink had run, making most pages illegible, and the drawings done in pencil were all but gone. It was useless now, except as a memento of lost hope. "No. All my Dad wrote…" Turning the pages, the blonde flicked to the page she had liked the most, the one with her photo and her Dad's name- Eathon Lambert.

Miraculously, it was still intact. Not a mark had run, nor disappeared, It was as the teen had first seen it. Staring in wonder, she turned the page. The other side of the dry page was sopping wet, and destroyed. "How?" A tear slid down her cheek, and Loki shut the book. All that was important had been washed clean.

Getting up, the girl walked away, and in the heat of the sun, was soon dry. Her head hung in silent, oppressive sorrow, as her one chance at finding her father had been snatched away.

A shadow of an immense creature fell across her path, but absorbed in her sadness, the teen didn't notice. She shut her eyes to stop the tears falling, and was the very picture of a broken heart. The thing was like a mix between a spider and a machine. It had four long limbs, and a single eye that filled its entire head. The eye glowed orange, and as it walked, the sounds of machines working could be heard. It crept along the side of a building after its prey. The blue-eyed girl turned into an alleyway, and she sighed to herself. "It's ruined." She muttered, bleakly.

"Let's do this nice and easy kid. It's over." It was the female suit again, standing calmly in the teen's path. At seeing one of the people who had helped to cause the books destruction, Loki's eyes filled with the same fire they had at the bridge, and she took a few threatening steps forwards.

"I finally got a clue about my father, and it was taken away from me!" She snarled, "All because of you freaks!" The suit growled, and reached into her jacket, pulling out a pendant shaped like a deformed beetle, with a red jewel in the middle.

"Redcap!" The suit invoked, and a red light sprang from the amulet, quickly forming the all too solid form of another monster. This one was vaguely humanoid, and green, with long white hair, and a band across its eyes, wearing a tunic-like cloth, and had long flexible claws on the edge of its hands. It howled in a weird, screeching voice.

Looking over her shoulder at the beast's face, the blonde screamed, and ran away. "Got ya." The redhead smirked. The creature swung again, and its prey ran out the alley.

Still running, the azure-eyed girl ducked mid-run, almost falling, but was glad when the thing dug a claw-shaped groove in the wall, and not in her. She turned another corner, and tried to keep one step ahead of the monster.

Seeing a man in a gondola pushing his way down the canal in front of her, the teen made a snap decision to save her skin. She jumped, aiming for the boat. Its gondolier's eyes widened as he saw the girl flying towards him. She landed, rocking the boat, and used the momentum to launch herself to the other side, just making it, and scrabbling for purchase on the canal wall. The boat swayed wildly for a moment, before its passenger was thrown into the water. "Sorry!" Loki called over her shoulder, before trying to clamber up again.

She found herself face to face with the first monster, the one she hadn't seen following her down the street, and stared deep into its one eye. Her feet glowed green again, and she found herself flying up to a second storey balcony above its head. The longhaired suit landed behind her, with a Redcap on his heels. As the thing swiped one massive clawed hand, Loki dodged to the side, and flipped over the edge, just as she had done on the canal wall with Will only hours earlier.

Feeling a sting on her arm, the girl looked down to see a ripped sleeve. "I've got to do something!" She closed her eyes, trying to think of a plan, and what Will had said before they'd split up came to her mind. _'Get that book to Dante Vale' _Taking the most public paths she could think of, the girl set off, not knowing where she was going, but knowing what she had to do.

Dashing round a corner, she shouldered her way through a couple, which stared after her, calling "How rude!" but she didn't turn, not even when she heard them scream at the passing monster.

Dodging round another corner, the golden-haired teen ran past a phone booth. "Hey!" An idea springing to mind, she skidded to a halt and ran back to it, stowing the book in one of the many pouches at her belt. "The phone book!" Picking up said item, she flicked through it, straight to V, muttering, "Vale" Over and over.

Seeing her pursuers, Loki ripped out the entire V section, and ran for it, just as they noticed her. "Mindrone!" One suit yelled, and the one-eyed beast made a whirring noise, before shooting a crackling energy beam at the phone box, causing it to explode. The blonde screamed as she was flung to the ground by the shockwaves.

Raising herself shakily to her knees, she stared through the smoke and dancing flames to see the silhouettes of two suits, a Redcap, and a Mindrone advancing towards her.

* * *

><p>From the rooftops, Will could see the flames and smoke, and stared worriedly in the direction he knew his friend was, his emerald eyes round with concern. Hearing the whirring of magic and monsters, the boy turned to see two Mindrones hovering in the air beside him, held up by the blue light the suits had used. Sure enough, two suits appeared: a blonde, spiky haired woman, and a dark-skinned, longhaired female.<p>

"Found you." The blonde crowed with satisfaction. "Boy, you're going to have to come with us. We have some questions." The teen glowered at her.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested." At his statement, the dark woman grew angry.

"This isn't a request! Raypulse!" A beam of fiery energy sprang from her hand, to hit the tiles at the boy's feet. He didn't move, nor flinch.

"My name is William Casterwill, and I am not," He paused to tie a curved amulet around his neck, and the smoke cleared, revealing a man wearing a martial arts outfit, with long braided hair. "Alone." The blonde suit, when she saw the man through the smoke, gasped. The brunette lad grinned, but it wasn't a nice smile, like the ones he had shared with Loki. "Now, I could use some exercise, if only to keep my mind sharp." As he leapt into the air, the pendant began to glow, its light a blinding bluey-white.

* * *

><p>Defoe and Grier were marching down a street, the minion a few paces behind his master. "Tell the team to report immediately, Grier." The thin man commanded. The blonde nodded.<p>

"At once, sir." He put a finger to his earpiece. At that moment, the gondolier that Loki had knocked over earlier came running around the corner, screaming about monsters by the canal. Defoe sneered, and raised a hand.

"Touchram." A green light flowed from his hand, and slammed the man into the wall, where he lay, dazed. The brunette walked over, and crouched by the innocent's side, and snapped his fingers. "Simplemind." The greasy man's eyes glowed red behind his tinted lenses. "Now, forget about all these monsters you saw." The man fell into unconsciousness. "It appears the boys were a little sloppy."

"Defoe, sir." The man turned with a sharp laugh. "It's our men. They've got the girl cornered." Defoe bared his teeth in a predator's smile.

"Perfection itself. Where are they?"

* * *

><p>The girl they were talking about was currently running for her life, and finding monsters at every turn. Loki sprinted down a winding street, and a Redcap appeared before her. "Oh boy!" She moaned, and then changed direction, going back the way she came, only to discover another one blocking the way. It roared at her as she ran off down another side street.<p>

Flicking through the V section of the phone book as she ran, the blonde gasped for breath, pausing outside a gate that led to a house's courtyard. "Oh, come on, where are you?" She muttered desperately. "It's gotta be around here, 'coz I just can't run anymore!" Hearing footsteps, the girl looked up, and saw a Mindrone and its suit come round the bend. Eyes as wide as a frightened deer's, she span, looking for a way to escape, but she was surrounded on all sides. She started to retreat backwards through the gateway, keeping her eyes on all the suits at once. They laughed, a low menacing sound, knowing they had her.

"Give it up!" The tawny-haired male told her. He raised a hand, a ball of power glowing in his palm. "Raypulse!" The energy bolt shot towards her, and she only had time to cry out before it knocked her down.

* * *

><p>A few streets away, a man with messy, russet hair, and a goatee and beard, wearing a beige trench coat and green-tinted sunglasses was carrying his groceries home in a large paper bag. Hearing fighting, the stranger walked faster. "Sounds like someone's being careless." He murmured, his voice dry and sarcastic.<p>

* * *

><p>Back in the courtyard, Loki was down, and not getting up anytime soon. The ground around her was dotted with burn marks, and she was on her hands and knees, trying to breathe. Suits circled her, and there was no way out.<p>

The suits were contacting Defoe. His voice could be heard over the earpiece they all wore, and he sounded genuinely surprised. _"Have you acquired the target?"_

"Affirmative. We've got her!" The blonde raised her head to glare with burning eyes at them all, her hatred clear in her sapphire orbs.

"Excuse me?" It was a man's voice, and its owner was standing at the gate to the courtyard. He was carrying a large paper bag of groceries, and held it close to his chest. All that could be seen of him was his yellowish overcoat, his black jumper, cream pants, and sensible, brown shoes. A few locks of reddish hair poked out from behind the bag, but his face was hidden by the bag of food. "Is someone there? A little help? I'm loaded down with all these groceries, can someone get the door?" The teen on the floor stared in shock at the man's audacity.

Without hesitation, a suit raised a hand to blast him down. "Augerfrost!" A blue beam leapt eagerly forward, but was blocked with a yellow light-shield, and only singed the bag. The newcomer walked forward as if nothing had happened, till he stood by the girl on her knees. He turned his head to look her over, and revealed his face- angular and clever, lined with a small beard and goatee, all in the same colour as his scruffy hair. His eyes, tinted emerald by his sunglasses, were filled with concern. "Hey, you okay?"

Loki eyed him with apprehension. "Well, I've been better!" She pushed herself, unsteadily, to her feet, and in doing so, showed the stranger the glowing amulet around her neck. She couldn't see it, because of its short chain. The man's eyes grew wide, and his mouth hung slack for a second, knowing that there was only one amulet that glowed green, before smiling wickedly.

"I think it's time for you guys to go." He said confidently. "You can walk away, or get thrown out with the trash. Your choice." He lowered the bag, and his eyes danced with amusement, as if he knew what was coming. The blonde suit took offence at his insolent tone, and raised a fist in the air.

"No one defies the Organization! Get him!" Two Redcaps roared, and charged him. The man stood still till the last second, when he yelled "Hyperstride!" and flipped over them, his legs glowing blue. Loki's heart sank, thinking he was another suit, until he landed on the wall surrounding the yard.

His 'glasses having fallen of during his 'flight', the man's amber eyes were now visible, and they were filled with kindness, courage, and anger at her treatment. The teen knew he would help her. "I warned you." He murmured tauntingly, before exposing the amulet in his hand. It was oval, with three prongs protruding from the base, and grey in colour. At its centre was a blue stone, which shone brightly in the sunlight. The Redcaps hissed at it, and the rusty haired man grinned. "Come out and play, guys." He raised the pendant to the sky, crying "Caliban!" The necklace shone blue; the light grew to cover the man. An Aztec style warrior, dressed in old amour, appeared out of the amulet, with long white hair flowing from under his helmet. In place of eyes, he had blue fire, and in his hands he held a long, curved sword. He landed on the wall next to his invoker, and the two stood in identical fighting stances.

The leader of the suits wasn't happy. "Get them!" The two Redcaps charged once more. The man on the wall frowned, and leapt down to the floor.

"Go!" He shouted to his partner, and charged the monsters at the same time they were charging him. The blue warrior, Caliban, jumped high into the air, blade pulled back to strike a devastating blow. The man slipped past one Redcap, which fell as it tried to catch him, and turned to face the pair once more. Caliban landed, and used the hilt of his sword to smash the first Redcap in the face, sending it crashing into a wall. Loki edged to the back wall, not wanting to get in the way, and not knowing how to help. The Aztec swung at the last monster with his blade, but the creature ducked, and he swung again. The man in the trench coat span, gathering blue energy in his hand as he did so. "Time to wrap this up." He sliced at the beast with his glowing hand. The Redcap split in half, but it was unclear as to who hit the final blow, the warrior or the human. Instead of leaving a body, it turned back into light, and flowed to the suit that had called it.

Turning to face the suits, the man motioned with his hand. "Let's settle this like men." The suits charged him as the Redcaps had done. For a while both sides just dodged each other's blows, and glared at each other, until the stranger knocked the longhaired man to the floor with a flurry of punches. The redhead woman stepped out of the fray and began to charge an Augerfrost attack in her palm, and the blonde sneered at the golden-eyed man.

"We'll bring you to Defoe in chains!" He jeered. The blue-eyed girl, all but forgotten in the fight, picked up a branch, determined to help, her face set. The golden-eyed man looked bored, and slipped back into a fighting stance.

"Enough with the sweet talk. Let's end this, now!" The last man swung a wild punch, and the russet-haired man grabbed his arm, throwing him over his shoulder and into the dustbin. The lid slammed shut. The redhead raised her hand, and shouted "Auger-" before she was cut off by a whack to the head from Loki's branch. The man smiled, amber eyes glinting with humour.

"Let me guess," The blonde girl called to him, figuring out why he helped her. "You're Dante Vale, right?" Her voice still shook, and her hours of running were beginning to take their toll. The longhaired man pulled himself onto his side behind them both, and whispered for his Mindrone to attack them. The creature leapt into the air, whirring as it fell towards them, but the man, Dante, saw it coming, and glared at it, his eyes already turning blue with another summoning.

"Solwing!" Using an amulet that looked like a star with 3 points on the side instead of one, the man called forth a blue bird with three sets of wings, wearing a Roman helmet and an Egyptian collar. It screeched, and flew straight through the falling Mindrone, destroying it. It flowed back to the longhaired man, who yelped and ran, soon followed by the other two suits.

Loki was kneeling on the ground, feeling much too tired to do anything else. Dante reached out and offered a hand, which she took, looking at him with both fear and wonder. "What…. what is all this?" Her voice was shrill with panic, which was perfectly understandable after all she had been through that day. The amber-eyed man before her smiled gently, and looked around before answering.

"This," He looked at the two creatures leaning and perching on the walls. "This is my house. Why don't you come inside?" He supported the exhausted teen on his arm, and used a hand in the small of her back to keep her moving.

* * *

><p>Once inside, and sitting comfortably, Loki explained her reasons for seeking him out, and how she had come to be there. She gave him the book, and then explored the room they were in. She found a plaque on the desk, and read it with excitement. "Detective. Does that mean you're like a Private Eye?" With a serious look on his face, the man in question turned from his desk, and looked at her.<p>

"Sure, but what I'm really interested in is ancient secrets, like these." He held up journal.

Thinking about it, the Lambert shrugged, and placed the sign back on the table. "I guess those guys were too, huh?"

Dante inclined his head. "They were after this book of yours, or rather," He paused, "What is left of it." He decided to ask her about the intact page later, most probably the author had put a charm on that page so his name couldn't be taken off, but then there was that picture, and the signature...

The azure-orbed girl looked at the book sadly. "Well, it's not going to do anyone any good now." The amber-eyed man's gazed softened for a moment, seeing the pain she was hiding, but toughened as he continued.

"Loki, this is serious. The Organization is a ruthless group, with operatives in every government on the globe. Once they target you, they don't stop." Loki hung her head, her dreams of going back to normalcy shattering in front of her eyes.

"There must be way out!" She pleaded desperately. Dante's face grew, if possible, even more serious.

"There is. I have friends in the Huntik Foundation. They're trying to stop the Organization from getting too many titans." Thinking back to what she could remember of the book, and the day she had had, the girl's eyes lit up with understanding.

"Those monsters back there were titans?" She remembered the beauty of the one called Solwing, the passion of Caliban, and the darkness that surrounded the Redcaps and the Mindrones. They were a very varied race.

"Yes," explained Dante, his expression just like that on the teen's professors at school. The familiarity both comforted the girl, and reminded her how much her life had changed since that morning. "Titans are spirit beings that can be controlled by people with strong will. These people are called Seekers. The Huntik Foundation is full of strong Seekers, and they can protect you."

Tired, hurt, and most of all, scared, hearing there was no way to escape this life of running made Loki snap. "No!" She cried, on the verge of tears. "No more monsters! No more secret societies!" She raised a hand, curled into a shaking fist, and looked him right in the eyes. Her own were full of pain and suffering, some of which she was only beginning to understand. She had already made the connection between this world of lies and her father's disappearance, it being his journal and all. "You have no idea what today's been like for me!" Her voice broke as tears rolled down her pale face, her body shaking with anger and confusion and frustration.

Dante looked at her with compassion, realizing whose journal it was now, and why the picture looked like Loki, but the girl was too hurt to pay any attention. "Loki." His voice was gentle, and his eyes kind, and it was just too much for the blonde, and so she did what Will had done to her that afternoon. She ignored it.

"You know what? Keep that dumb ruined book and this too!" She tore the necklace from her throat, and slammed it down on the desk next to the journal. "I don't care if they were my father's. I don't want to see those suit guys or your titan things ever again!" She turned around, and stormed to the door.

"Hold it!" Dante roared, anger masking the concern in his voice. The girl paused with her hand on the handle, shoulders tight with anger, and shaking with tears. "Sorry, you're not getting of that easy. You're already a part of this secret world." Eyes blazing, the teen turned to face him, flinging a hand at him in a frustrated gesture.

"What's that meant to mean?" She'd had enough of riddles and puzzles for one day. Dante just raised an eyebrow, and raised a hand, which held something cupped inside.

"This." He said simply, placing it down of the desk. It was the green amulet she had found with the book.

"My father's amulet?" She asked, her voice tinged with disappointment. That was his explanation?

"It may have been your father's this morning, but it's yours now." Loki just stared at him, not understanding. "Sometime during today, this amulet synchronised with you. Loki, you're one of us now."

The dream she had tried to salvage fell to pieces again. "I am?" She whispered, her eyes begging for him to say no.

"Like your father, you're already a Seeker." Dante continued. The pair of them gazed at the pendant of the desk, when suddenly it glowed green, and flew through the air to the girl's waiting hand. She held the ends of the chain, and tied it once more around her neck. It stopped glowing, knowing it was back where it belonged.

A horse voice, slightly familiar, came from the girl's left. "He's right, friend." It was the voice from the Basilica, and looking around, the teen saw it belonged to another titan, this one white, with rabbit ears, wings and a lion-like tail. "When you've been around as long as I have, let's just say you get a feeling for these things"

The young Seeker's mouth fell open. "It's you!" She cried, shocked. The tiny titan smiled, and continued explaining.

"You see, my girl, the bond between Seekers and Titans grants special abilities, and you can't say you haven't felt that power, now can you?" Thinking back over her day, the azure-orbed girl remembered the green glow that had helped her float from building to building, the same glow that had carried the amulet to her just now.

Dante was by a nearby window, looking out onto the courtyard. "Loki, forget Cherit a minute, and take a look." Pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture, Loki began to walk over.

"What now?" She reached the window, and gaped at the once empty yard. It was now filled with suits, and at the front were two wearing their own clothes, one thin with glasses, and the other in military attire with blonde hair.

Dante looked at her gravely. "Someone just raised the stakes." Cherit flew over, his face wrinkled with worry.

"Aye, there's no way out!" He moaned. Loki's eyes grew wide, and she looked from titan to Seeker.

"Urm, did I mention I have a languages final tomorrow?"

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><p>Out in the courtyard, Defoe sneered up at the window, seeing his arch-rival glaring right at him, and a scared, pale face staring out. "The kid, the journal, and the hated Dante Vale. We'll get them all together!"<p>

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><p>AN: And that's it! The end of an episode! Don't worry though, faithful viewers, more is on the way!<p>

Shout-outs go to my first three viewers. Thank you Star Time 101, Janka, and Warrior Cats! You all have my eternal gratitude for your support


	5. Chapter 4 The Casterwill Client

AN: And here's the next chapter, up super quick to reward you all for your patience! Enjoy!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 4- The Casterwill Client- Part 1

Later on, as the sky grew dark, Loki was watching the Organization members outside the window, keeping to one side to avoid being seen. "Great, we're surrounded by suits!" She glared down at them, glad to be inside, and not out there.

Dante seemed unbothered by the massive attack force outside his door. Pushing a sequence on his old-fashioned phone, it opened, revealing a grey shield-shaped amulet with a blue stone in the centre. "My friends in the Huntik Foundation made sure this house was well protected. Our enemies won't find it easy getting inside." The amber-eyed man had taken off his trench coat, and walked away, running a finger thoughtfully over the amulet he had retrieved from his 'phone'. The young teen shook her head, and paced over to where a small, cat-sized titan was flying in mid-air. It gave her the thumbs up.

"That's right, Loki. We're safe in these walls." She wasn't satisfied, however, and strode after the mahogany-haired man, venting her frustration through wild hand gestures.

"So that's it? We're just going to hide, till they get bored and take off?" Dante looked over his shoulder at the irritated girl, still calm.

"No. Loki. Remember this?" He held up Loki's father's journal. The sight of the book reassured the young Seeker, and a focused glint came to her eyes. "We've got a mystery to solve."

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><p>Outside, Grier and Defoe were making their way up the steps to Dante's front door. "You'll take half the men," The smaller man commanded. "Seize the girl and the journal. Dante Vale is mine." The tall blonde frowned, the man's orders conflicting with those of the higher authorities in his mind.<p>

"Our orders are only to get the book and the kid, sir." The brunette whirled around to face his subordinate, his face twisted in an angry snarl.

"Forget about that! The only orders that need to concern you are mine!" He growled, glaring ferociously at Grier. The man smiled, evil lighting up his face.

"Yes sir."

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><p>Inside the surrounded house, Dante was leading the group into a beautifully decorated room, now wearing his trench coat again. Cherit flew through the door, and understanding lit up his grey eyes. "Oh, aye, Dante, are we using the roof exit?" Loki looked around in wonder at the painted walls, depicting an Ancient Grecian town, before running to catch up.<p>

"The roof?" She asked, concern etched on her face. "What if they see us?"

Dante looked at her coolly. "We'll be careful, but," He reached into his coat. "In case things get complicated," He pulled out the amulet he had taken from his 'phone'. "Here, take this." He placed it in the girl's outstretched hand, and as he did so, it glowed a blinding white. The glow engulfed her hand, and her eyes swam with images.

_A suit of amour, French style, alive. Fire, burning blue, where the eyes were meant to be._

_A cave. The Titan slamming a Redcap to the floor with one massive fist, protecting a shadowy figure in the background._

_She and the titan standing side by side in a desert, proud and strong, the titan's shield and lance gleaming the harsh sun._

_Her, cringing away from a Redcap's claws, the titan's name upon her lips, calling for help._

_The titan charging an unseen enemy, Cherit riding on its head, as it throws its spear._

_The titan walking through a steamy jungle._

_The titan fighting, raising its shield to protect its Seeker, the reflection of an Egyptian cat-like titan on its shield._

_She, Cherit and the titan, in a library, a Redcap glowing as it surged back to its Seeker, having been impaled on the titan's lance. _

_Herself, just an hour or two before, on her knees, looking in horror as enemies approached through flames. _

_A green hologram of the titan on a board, showing its statistics._

_The titan, standing straight during its invokement sequence._

_Will and her wearing cloaks, the titan and two others, ones that she hadn't seen before, standing in a protective circle._

_The titan looking over its shoulder._

_The titan at a different part of its invokement._

Dante's eyes widened as the glow around the blonde's hand grew impossibly bright. "It worked!" Cherit crowed with glee, clasping his hands together. "She's a natural, like I said." The glow died down, and then disappeared, and the elder Seeker looked at her with respect, now he could actually see her. Loki looked at the pair of them, smug and shocked, her eyes flicking from one to the other in wonder.

"What are you talking about? What is this?" She rushed the questions out, one after the other as fast as possible, wanting to know what had just happened. She'd seen the titan's past and future, that much she knew, if only because she hadn't actually done most of those things yet.

The russet-haired man smiled slyly, looking like a cat that had got the cream, and a strangely proud glint shone in his golden eyes. "Just more insurance. The details will have to wait." His smile disappeared as he turned away, growing serious. "Come on." The white titan hmmed happily, gave a thumbs up, then flew after Dante. Loki shrugged, baffled by their mysteriousness, and then followed silently.

They reached the roof, and crouched low to avoid being seen, first Cherit, then Loki, with Dante bringing up the rear. They peered over the edge of the balcony, spying on the suits gathered in and around the courtyard. Cherit whispered softly to his companions. "Look there." It was the two plain clothed Organization members, walking out the gate that led to Dante's house's yard. The brunette was obviously angry, his shoulders tight, and his walk more like a march then anything. The blue-eyed teen grinned cheerfully.

"By the time they realize we skipped out, we'll be long gone!" She turned her head to look at her human companion, and was surprised to see he was standing up. The amber-orbed Seeker jumped lightly onto the balcony's rail, and the young teen grew worried. That worry became full blown panic when Dante jumped down onto the tiled roof, making a small clinking noise, and started calling down to the suits in the yard.

"That's a nice house you boys are checking out. Dabbling in real estate?" He was taunting them- but at what cost? The greasy man with the glasses was already growling at them, now seeing the girl hiding behind the balcony's wall. Dante began to walk along the roof's edge, still mocking them. "And here I though you were book collectors." Coming to the corner of the roof, he reached a hand into his trench coat, and pulled out the prize they were searching for- Eathon's Journal. "If you want it then come and get it. But, I warn you, collecting suits is my hobby." He put the book away, and took a few steps back up the roof's length.

Loki, no longer bothering with concealment, ran along the balcony till she was as near as she was going to get without stepping onto the roof proper. She looked at her newest friend like he was crazy. "Du-u-de! What are you doing?"

His gold eyes watching the suits as a hawk watches a mouse, he replied. "Taunting them," The blonde couldn't help but think _'Well duh!' _The man continued. "Leading them away from here." Now Loki was _really_ confused.

"But I thought you said your house was indestructible!" The azure-eyed teen near-screamed at him. She'd already tangled with the suits far too much for one day. Dante looked at her, humour sparking in his eyes.

"Maybe, but my neighbours aren't." Considering the point, the girl had to concede it was a good one, but she still didn't see the point of risking their necks for it…

Back on the ground, the thin man, Defoe, was raging at his minions. "What are you cretins waiting for, huh? Go!" The suits obeyed, and ran for the trio on the roof.

"Hyperstride!" They yelled, their legs glowing blue as they jumped to reach their enemies. Dante took a few steps back, a satisfied look on his face.

"Alright." A few more steps. "Hah." He turned around and raced past the blonde, grabbing her collar and using it to pull her along after him. Loki protested, but the auburn haired Seeker ignored her. Cherit flew right behind them. "Come on, we gotta get outta here." He pulled the girl to his side, almost tucking her under his arm, lifting her off her feet in the process. It wasn't like she'd have been able to run as fast as he could anyway, and in the meanwhile, the teen got to enjoy the unique feeling of someone being able to pick you up like a kitten.

The suits reached the top of the roof before they reached the bottom, and began firing Raypulses at them, trying to knock them over. Dante's passenger watched the beams shoot past her face with both fascination and terror, knowing all to well what they could do. Seeing the edge of the roof draw nearer, the older Seeker launched himself and the girl of the roof with a "Hyperstride!" only just getting a foot on the other side. Luckily, Loki didn't see that, busy as she was trying not to be a burden to her transport. Dante ran over the top of the next rooftop, the suits close on their tails.

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><p>Not far away, William was still puzzling over what he had learnt that day, and right when he started to wonder whether Loki had made it to Dante Vale or not, he heard the screech of Redcaps and the firing of Seeker powers. "What's this?" He asked himself, running over to the rim of the roof he was on. Looking down, he saw the very teen he had been thinking about, running pace for pace down the street next to a young man, mid twenties perhaps, with auburn hair. Due to the fact the man didn't seem disturbed by the two Redcaps that were guarding the other end of the bridge they were on, and the fact he was wearing his signature beige trench coat, the man could only be Dante Vale.<p>

Dante and Loki paused at their end of the bridge, gasping for breath, with the older man leaning on the railing for support. "They just keep coming!" The girl panted to her companion, her voice laced with fear. She was still getting used to the very idea of Titans and monsters, let alone the fact she was now battling them.

"Only two of them this time." He replied. Of course, it was just then that two suits appeared at the end of the bridge too, their legs still blue with Hyperstride.

"Augerfrost!" One yelled, followed soon by the other's: "Raypulse!" Dante stayed still, the Raypulse aimed at him going far too wide to do any damage, but Loki ended up diving out the way, the frost-bolt still only missing her by a few centimetres. Her redheaded friend looked over with concern, a murderous scowl on his face, fearing the worst as the girl lay unmoving on the pavement, but turned back to the battle as soon as he saw her saw start to clamber to her hands and knees. At a signal from Dante, Cherit flew over to help her. It was strange to the young man, but he already felt strong, protective feelings towards this fatherless child, and he knew he would go to any lengths to look after her. He pulled out an amulet, the twin to the one he had given his teenage friend, and called out to the titan inside.

"Awaken Freelancer!" A pink glow erupted from the pendant, and became the armoured Titan with the huge lance that Loki had seen in her visions. His right hand and arm were super sized, so as to control the massive weapon. Freelancer and his Seeker raced across the bridge to fight, just as the blue-eyed girl lifted her head.

The pair raced in perfect harmony to their opponents. A suit shot an Augerfrost at the duo, but Dante quickly stepped behind his titan's giant shield, and they kept going, undisturbed, the titan making a high, piercing note as he moved, reminiscent of flutes playing medieval melodies.

Dante rolled forwards to avoid a power-beam, and turned the roll into a flip, kicking his adversary as he came up. The other suit laughed evilly, another pale blue orb charging in his hand. Loki nodded, to Cherit, and whispered. "How can I help?" Cherit looked the girl over, noticing the dark circles around her eyes, her ragged hair and clothing, and her overall exhaustion. It was a miracle, is his opinion, that she hadn't collapsed yet. It was pure strength of will that was keeping the mortal upright, he decided, and that was what would make her a powerful Seeker.

"By resting. No good will come of you trying to fight- the best thing you can do now is rest, so you don't collapse later. You have had a long and tiresome day, my girl." Though she looked disappointed, the girl could only see wisdom in the creature's words.

Will watched it all with a smirk. So, Loki had made it, and now understood about the secret world that he, and others like him, lived in. He raised his hands, both lit with peach fire, summoning his titan. The pendant around his neck, shaped like a triangle with horns, began to glow with the same light. "They look like they could use my help. Strike swiftly, Sabriel! " A woman-shaped titan with long pink hair appeared. She was dressed in light armour, which included a visor shaped like ram's horns, and a view piece like a metal grill. Her face could not be seen, but she radiated power and intelligence. Once his titan was fully invoked, Will jumped off the building, Sabriel soon following. They raced into battle, and working together as they always did, soon defeated one Redcap. The man in the martial arts outfit who had been with the brunette before moved to take out the other suit, leaving Dante to his work, and in one fluid motion, knocked him out. The other Redcap was swiftly dealt with by Freelancer.

With a little help from Cherit, Loki got up, and staggered over, using the bridge's rail for support. As she did so, Will turned to the man with the braid, and addressed him with obvious authority. "Thank you Santiago, that will be all." The man, Santiago, bowed.

"Yes milord." And with that, he disappeared in a puff of black smoke. By the time he had gone, the blonde teen had reached the end.

"Will?" She called, relief flowing from every pore. He was safe! _"Well,"_ she amended mentally, _"As safe as any of us in this secret world will be."_ The brunette turned, and ran to his friend's side, looking her over with concern. Although the emerald-eyed boy had sustained no injuries, the girl was clearly the worse for wear. As the Casterwill neared her, Loki grabbed his hand, and dragged him into a fierce hug. The lad was shocked; after all, they had only met properly this morning, but hugged her back just as hard. He had been born into this world of magic and secrecy, and could only imagine from her state what kind of introduction the younger girl had had. The 17-year-old patted her back, awkwardly at first, then with more confidence as he felt again that odd comfort the girl gave to him, that put him at ease around her.

By the time they had pulled apart, Dante had withdrawn Freelancer into his amulet, and walked over. "I take it this means you're a Seeker too, hey Will?" The blonde girl asked him wearily. Will took her hand, letting her lean on him, and nodded.

"I was raised in this world. It's my destiny as a Casterwill to be a powerful Seeker. Some spells can only be performed by my family, and so I have a duty, and I must fulfil it." Loki inclined her head, understanding, but her stern gaze told the boy that they would be talking about this later.

Dante was looking around, scouting for more enemies, and called back over his shoulder: "Nice work. With moves like those, you'll be an elite Seeker someday." His tone was patronizing. Although this lad and his bodyguard had helped them, and Loki seemed to know them, he didn't and so didn't trust him…. yet.

Will took the praise in his stride, only half listening. "Well, I have been training since I was lit-" He broke off, glaring daggers at the russet-haired man. "Hey! What do you mean someday?" The girl next to him laughed, but didn't comment. She was too tired to do much more than stand there, and her eyes were glassy with fatigue.

The golden-eyed man ignored the boy's outburst, and kept scouting for suits. "Loki, this boy a friend of yours?" The azure eyed girl hmmed an affirmative.

"I'm William Casterwill. It's nice to meet you, Dante Vale." Amber eyes looked the boy up and down, and their owner muttered, half to himself, "Casterwill…"

The blonde teen glanced up at the boy beside her in confusion. "Will, I thought you already knew Dante?" She murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper. Will had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Well, not exactly. You see, Dante's the Foundation's number one Seeker. He's famous." Loki grinned at the mahogany-haired man and mouthed "Celebrity!" at him. Dante just rolled his eyes.

"Very funny." He said quietly. "We should take cover." The man was still looking around, as if he expected suits to jump them any minute. "William, do you have somewhere we can go." The boy tilted his head in thought, and then nodded.

"I know just the place. Follow me." The foursome set off, with Cherit curled scarf-like around Loki's neck, whispering to her, as she leant on Will. The day had truly drained her, both emotionally and physically, and the mini titan's words kept her going, along with the feel of Will's hand in hers.

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><p>AN: Review, and I may go faster! ^.^<p> 


	6. Chapter 5 The Casterwill Client Part 2

AN: I seem to be having some kind of problem with my review page. :( Reading what you guys have written makes my day, and now I can't see it! Please, review anyway, and I'll try to fix it.

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 5- The Casterwill Client Part 2

A walk through the streets later, the quartet was arriving at a huge, old-fashioned mansion by the canals. "You live here?" Loki asked incredulously, from where she was leaning on Dante. She was dead on her feet, but her eyes still shone with excitement, Cherit draped about her neck. The boy grinned sheepishly, and opened the doors, calling back over his shoulder as he walked into a lavishly painted hall, its walls showing cherubs and angels in the style of Michelangelo.

"I am the heir to the Casterwill family fortune. I am therefore expected to live up to certain standards. A dorm doesn't exactly cut it." The blonde rolled her eyes, and mouthed to Cherit: 'Snob!' The white titan giggled, but held his hands over his mouth to stifle it, his grey eyes sparking with amusement

An older gentleman, in a suit with grey hair and a pencil moustache, stepped up behind the Casterwill, and held out an arm to guide them. "Right this way, young master, mistress." He inclined his head to Dante and Loki in turn. The pair of them bowed their heads in return, the blonde following the golden-eyed man's example.

The emerald-eyed teen introduced them. "This is my attendant"- _'Butler'_ the blue-eyed girl thought- "LeBlanche. He'll show you to the tearoom." Cherit clasped his hands together, and leapt off the girl's shoulders.

"Oh! Fancy!" The group walked after the butler, the russet-haired man looking around warily. He didn't want to get too comfy here- not when it might not be safe.

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><p>In the tearoom, Loki was curled up on a sofa, watching with sleepy eyes as Cherit flew around, looking at the artwork in the beautifully decorated room. Dante was sitting on an armchair, sipping delicately at a cup of tea. His eyes constantly moving around, spotting exits; escape routes, and other important features. His eyes finally came to rest upon the young Seeker before him, her head leaning back on the couch's back, eyes closed, and brow furrowing in thought.<p>

"Loki, have you thought about what I said?" There was a pause, and the older Seeker thought that the azure-orbed teen had fallen asleep, when she answered, without opening her eyes.

"I'm not going to run and hide. If this is really my world now, I'm going to live in it. Besides," She muttered sarcastically. "Do I really have a choice? No matter what I say, you'll persuade me otherwise. I get the feeling you don't let go of an argument, be it verbally or when fighting, do you?" She cracked open an eye, a slit of blue glowing against her alabaster skin. "I'm a Seeker now, and that ain't gonna change. Please, Dante, teach me." She opened her eyes fully, wide and imploring, sapphires set in platinum. Cherit turned his head in regard the pair, and nodded once.

"That's a great idea!" He croaked. "What say you, Dante?"

With a sinking heart, the amber-eyed man thought about it. He couldn't endanger this child. True, she was already in danger now, but with a lesser Seeker, she could still learn, but stay at the Foundation, in a safe environment. He wouldn't put her life at risk, not after all she had lost to his world already. He almost winced at her next words and how close they were to his thoughts.

"Maybe, that way, I can find out what happened to my dad." She sounded, in that one moment, so lost and alone, that Dante wanted to say yes, and tell her he'd find her father, but he couldn't do that to her, no matter how much it would hurt her now. He stood up, and began to walk away- away from her, away from her life, and away from the idea of putting her in danger. He racked his brain for an excuse.

"Sorry, but I'm a professional treasure hunter, and Private Eye, and I don't come cheap. You can't afford me." As he went to walk out the door, an arm slid across his path, the hand slapping onto the opposite side of the doorframe.

Emerald eyes dancing with mirth, William Casterwill grinned up into amber eyes, seeing through their owner's facade. They shared a look, both agreeing to help the girl who had grown up ignorant, and teach her together. They'd protect her, this flaxen haired girl with the laughing eyes and hidden pain. For some reason, the teen invoked feelings in those she knew stronger than any titan. People that were that very morning strangers to her, were now making a silent pact to defend her. She seemed precious, somehow. It was rare to find such a talented Seeker who was so oblivious to her abilities.

"But I can." The brunette taunted, sealing the deal, and Dante nodded imperceptibly. He smiled; more of a smirk, at the way fate had turned around today. He had always been a bit of a lone wolf, preferring Titans to people, and now he was feeling fatherly things towards an almost-orphan. The day couldn't get any stranger.

"You have a job for me?" The mahogany-haired man asked. Will nodded.

"Discover what happened to Loki's father, the Seeker Eathon Lambert, and teach her and me to be top Seekers along the way." Trying to find a way out, the gold-orbed Seeker looked away.

"That's not easy." A silent argument was taking place between the pair, both fighting for their side to win.

"I'll double what the Foundation pay you." Dante sighed, and tried one final time to change the jade-eyed boy's mind

"Expenses included?"

"Expenses included." The man took off his sunglasses, as if considering, conscious of Loki's eyes on him, burning a hole in his back.

"Boy," He heard the blonde give an anxious gasp behind him. "You gotta deal." Will and Dante shook hands, sealing both his deal as a teacher, and their deal as the azure-eyed girl's protectors. Both were aware of Loki, smiling widely, the grin lighting up her eyes, and chasing away the pain and tiredness that had clouded them before. None of the foursome was aware, however, of Santiago and LeBlanche watching from the shadows.

"That's a fine, worthy girl he's found, don't you agree, Santiago?" The braided man was lurking behind a pillar, glaring at the two human newcomers, and at one of them in particular.

"But can we trust Dante Vale?" The dark-eyed man hissed. LeBlanche looked shocked.

"Why ever not? His reputation is quite excellent." The bodyguard drew closer to the butler.

"Who cares what people say? What about his honour?"

The grey-haired man cut of the other's furious rant. "Only time will tell. Don't forget, William will require powerful allies, if he is to recognise his destiny as a Casterwill." He walked away, leaving Santiago gazing nervously at the group.

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><p>The group sat back down on sofas and armchairs, with Dante on a chair, and Will and Loki sharing a couch. "Will, thank you for your help." The blonde murmured, her blue eyes full of gratitude. "This really means a lot to me." The brunette blushed, and looked away.<p>

"No sweat. According to the journal, your father was looking for the ancient Amulet of Will." The pint-sized titan sitting on the coffee table butted in.

"That's a Casterwill artefact, right?" He asked, eyes bright with excitement. The girl looked from Cherit to the green-eyed boy beside her.

"I see! So you're thinking, you're gonna find my dad… then the amulet!" Dante nodded, smiling softly.

"We start tomorrow, as soon as you two are outta school." The duo nodded, before Will turned to Loki with a sly look on his face.

"You can all stay here, since both you're places are being watched by the Organization. In the meanwhile-I promised I'd help you study, didn't I, Loki?" The blonde groaned, and held her head in her hands.

"Swot!" She moaned, leaning her head against the back of the sofa. The boy swatted at her, then laughed, and stood up.

"Wait here whilst I go get my books." He left the room. Quick eyes darting from the door Will had left in, to the others that bordered the room, Loki tried to calculate if she could make it out before he got back. She sighed, realizing she was trapped. The gold-eyed man across from her laughed, guessing what she was thinking from her expression.

"No such luck, Loki. You're stuck here. I, however," He stood up. "Am going to leave you to it, seeing as _I_ passed high-school years ago! Don't worry, I'll be back to watch you suffer later." The cobalt-orbed girl on the sofa snorted as he headed out.

"How many years ago? It's at least a hundred!" Hearing the comment, rich laughter floated back down the hall. The blonde chuckled, then settled back to wait for her 'tutor'.

* * *

><p>When Will came down some ten minutes later, arms laden with textbooks, he found the girl curled up on the sofa, fast asleep, Cherit watching over her silently. Smiling gently, the lad called to Dante, who was passing by on his way to the library. When the older man looked over curiously, the boy placed a finger on his lips, and then nodded towards Loki. They both smiled.<p>

"She looks so much sweeter when she's asleep." The younger whispered, causing the russet-haired man to laugh quietly.

"You mean when she's not awake to sharpen her tongue on you!" Both shared a chuckle, but kept their eyes on her sleeping form. "You're right though, she looks gentler when she's not running for her life." The pair laughed again, before Dante waved Will back down the hall.

"You don't need to tutor her now. I'll take her upstairs. Let her sleep." Noticing the two humans at last, the white titan flew over.

"She needs it." He told them in his hoarse voice. "The poor thing's exhausted. Today has pushed her to her limits, and beyond." The brunette nodded, and started back down the hall.

"See you in the morning, Dante, Cherit." He called softly before he disappeared up the stairs. Dante called his own goodnight, then walked over to the girl on the sofa, as quiet as a cat. He gently picked her up, and she murmured something unintelligible in her sleep, and snuggled into his chest. The man froze, and blushed crimson, the paternal feelings he had felt earlier coming back in full force. He smiled, and carried her up the stairs. When they reached her room, the man shook her awake. She blinked sleepily, looking about her in confusion.

"Dante?" She mumbled. "What? Where?" He chuckled, and then set her down.

"You fell asleep on the couch." He told her, then laughed again as she looked at him bewilderedly.

"You sure?" She asked, yawning hugely, trying in vain to hide it behind her hand. Dante nodded.

"Now come on, we have a busy day tomorrow. Get some rest, and I'll see you in the morning." The girl nodded, and padded into her room, turning round to get the door. She smiled drowsily, and whispered: "'Night." Before closing the door completely. Dante wandered off to his room feeling happy, and wondered if he was wrong to try and stop her becoming a Seeker after all.

* * *

><p>In the midst of the dark night, in the area of abandoned warehouses, the three sedans met again, the light from their headlights making pathways through the dark. A door opened, and Grier stepped out, bending low to avoid hitting his head. He marched over to the canal edge, where Defoe was whirling a canister on a chord on a finger, till all that could be seen of it was a circle in the air. The greasy man was chunnering, and glowering into the middle distance.<p>

"Defoe sir." The blonde minion rumbled. "None of our teams were able to recover the book. Several moved on Dante Vale, and were beaten." The brunette growled, and snapped the canister into his palm.

Still snarling, the commander paced away from his lesser. "I told you, defeating him is a vital part of our mission!" He continued grumbling in a quieter voice.

"Yes sir. What are your orders?" The dogsbody asked, his blue-green eyes serious.

"They're going to research that journal." He pondered out loud. "Find me the biggest Foundation run library in Venice!"

* * *

><p>The next morning, Cherit flew into Loki's room to wake her up, sure she would not want either of the men seeing her when she was in her pyjamas. Seeing she was still asleep, the titan landed on the bed, calling to the sleeping girl.<p>

"Hi ho, Loki! Are you awake?" The girl groaned, and pulled the covers over her head.

"Go away!" She moaned, rolling over. The white titan was not to be deterred, however.

"Come! There is breakfast!" Loki sighed, and sat up.

"Two things, Cherit. One, I'm a girl. Food generally isn't a motive for me to get up. Two, do you ever sleep?" The teen yawned, and rubbed her eyes, swinging her legs off the bed, and pulling the covers like a cloak around her, concealing the nightgown that LeBlanche had managed to find her. The white creature flew to sit beside her, and answered her questions honestly.

"Me, sleep? No, not really." He said, looking out the patio doors to look at the dawning sun, the pale light setting the sky aflame.

"That would explain why you're always looking for someone to talk to." Following her friend's gaze, the blonde watched the sun come up. She laughed, but it was harsh and bitter.

"You look like you could use more sleep than you got." The small titan said worriedly. There was a pause, as each person tried to think of something to say.

Suddenly, the teen started to sing, in a pure, lovely voice, her Irish brogue showing through the haunting lyrics.

"Red, red and gold,

The dying of the day.

Crimson stains the sky,

And here before my eyes,

The dying of the day.

Red, red and gold

The birthing of the day

Though crimson stains the skies,

Now the sun survives,

At the birthing of the day."

She looked away, her eyes closed against the tears, and the girl felt Cherit place a tiny hand on hers. "My father used to sing that to me, every night, whenever I was scared of the dark. I always thought the sun died at night, and that's why the sky turned red. That song made me believe in hope, and miracles, like the way the sun seemed to be reborn every morning." She turned to look into the titan's grey eyes. "I spent the night thinking, oh god, what if I screw this up? What if I can't be a Seeker? I have to find him, Cherit."

The titan gave Loki a shrewd look. "Your father wrote that journal, so he must be a powerful Seeker, I say."

The fair-haired girl glanced down at the white being, her blue eyes full of emotion. "My father was a powerful Seeker?"

"Aye, and you have your father's strength in you." The girl blushed.

"I hope so." And the pair faced the light of the new day together.

* * *

><p>Outside the door, Will was paused with compassion on his face. A single crystal tear fell down his cheek. He had been passing by when he had heard singing- beautiful singing, full of memories. He had followed the sound to the blonde girl's door, and had overheard their conversation. Walking away, with new resolve in his heart, the emerald-eyed teen thought about his own dead parents, who had lain in their graves for 12 years. And he thought of love.<p>

* * *

><p>A while later, during breakfast, Will was looking out from a balcony, whilst LeBlanche brought out tea on a tray. He gazed out over the city, his city, his home, and thought about everything he had learnt yesterday. The greying butler placed his burden on the table, and walked over to his master.<p>

"Miss Loki is quite a charming young lady. The dear thing's already offered to help me five times this morning. So dreadfully thin, and all she ate was an apple. Fine girl, isn't she?" The brunette turned to look over his shoulder, and hmmed. He obviously hadn't been listening.

"I'm sorry LeBlanche, my mind was elsewhere. Could you repeat that?" Before the steel-eyed man had chance, a voice drifted up the stairs.

"Hey, Will! Come on! We're going to be late for school!" It was Loki, schoolbag in hand, back where it belonged after Santiago had fetched it, and some spare things, from her watched house.

Smiling ruefully, the boy ran after her, pelting down the stairs. "Sorry we didn't study, Loki, after all, I did promise you." The girl shrugged, laughter dancing in her eyes.

"No problem. After being chased by monsters all day, I don't think a test for a language I'm fluent in is going to scare me much." Will stopped, mouth-hanging open, before pursuing his friend.

"You were going to tell me this, when?" He asked disbelievingly. "I was going to tutor you, when it would have worked better the other way around!" Their laughter filled the cold, empty spaces of the massive house, after so long in darkness.

"You were having so much fun, I didn't want to spoil it for you!" Loki replied, giggling. "And I was going to tell you today, but there was no need, seeing as we didn't study anyway!" The twosome went at the front door of the house, and down the street, still joking and playing with one another.

Dante watched the pair go, laughing as they went, from where he was standing on the other side of the street. He smiled, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

><p>AN: Oh, yeah, just to say, the song is mine. Doesn't have a tune, but think old Irish songs, and you'll have it. Also, I have just realized that I am yet to put a disclaimer in this story, so here it is.<p>

HUNTIK IS NOT MINE! LOKI, WILL, AND THE CHANGES TO THE STORYLINE ARE MINE, THOUGH, AND IF YOU STEAL THEM I WILL FIND YOU!

You know what? That was much easier than I thought it would be. Sadly, I did not receive the rights to Huntik for my birthday, but there's always Christmas! *Makes hopeful face*


	7. Chapter 6 The Casterwill Client Part 3

AN: Here's the next part for you all! Sorry it took so long, but there was LOT I wanted to do and say with these guys! Enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 6- The Casterwill Client Part 3

A day of exams followed for Will and Loki. The girl of course, being fluent in most languages due to her globetrotting parent, found it easy. Will, having studied and being naturally clever, found it rather straightforward. The two were sure they had passed with flying colours.

As they walked out of school together, getting more than a few curious looks from fellow students- "Hey, look, William Casterwill is actually talking to someone! Yeah, I know, right! Yeah, Foster Kid of all people!"- The brunette asked his blonde companion to translate the last page of the exam for him. "I know it was something about fear, but I couldn't translate it all. What did you get?" Loki turned to walk backwards to face her friend, and thought for a bit, remembering the page.

"J'ai ressenti une peur pour mon âme mortelle, dévore tout et paralysante. J'ai été horrifié, et pétrifiée, pour trouver mon doux, mon amour, mon Hélène disparu! Pourquoi at-elle quitté volontairement, car il n'y avait pas de signes d'une lutte!" The girl performed, acting as Menelaus. "Basically, it's a French version of Helen of Troy, and it's the scene where Menelaus finds out she's done a runner."

Will listened carefully, and then shook his head. "That didn't answer my question, you silly thing! I asked for the translation!" They laughed together at the blonde's scatterbrain.

Tilting her head in thought for a moment, the girl recited the phrase- in English this time. "I felt a fear for my mortal soul, all-consuming and paralysing. I was horrified and petrified-" By this time the pair had reached the edge of the school yard, and a familiar voice called out of the shadows.

"What's wrong? Did the Organization try something at school?" After staring at Dante for a moment, they both burst out laughing.

"Dante, you're so funny! Of course not! I was only translating the text we had in our French exam! It's how Menelaus felt when he found Helen had disappeared." The russet-haired Seeker blushed slightly, but it was hidden in the shade of the courtyard.

"This place has too many witnesses. Even the Organization wouldn't make a move. Let's go. The sooner we unlock the secrets in that journal, the sooner we pick up the trail of Loki's father." The two students nodded, determination in their eyes, all thoughts of French and exams forgotten.

* * *

><p>A while later, the foursome, with Cherit hidden in Dante's bag, arrived at a huge library, almost as big as Will's canal-side mansion. After dumping their bags, and Dante his coat, on one table, the group spilt up, with the emerald-eyed teen going upstairs to look around, whilst Loki and Dante worked on training.<p>

"A Seeker's power source is the strength of will dwelling in their heart and mind." Cherit began the lesson, his strange and creaking voice echoing in the domed hall. Dante took up the next part, his back to the pair as he searched amongst the shelves of tomes.

"It lets you use powers, and invoke titans." Loki turned her head to look at the russet-haired man, her eyes bright with interest. Cherit flew along a bookshelf, searching through the volumes that lined the walls.

"When you touched your father's amulet it triggered your Seeker powers." Nodding, the girl pulled the pendant over her head, to look at it. The once green gem in the centre had turned grey, and a general air of lifelessness hung about it.

"It's not doing much today. You don't think I broke it, do you?" She looked over her shoulder at the other Seeker, chewing her bottom lip nervously.

Dante shook his head, reaching up to pull a book from a higher shelf. "That amulet's tricky for a beginner. The affects you felt yesterday were jumpstarted by your Awakening." He turned and walked back to the table, his head down, reading the book.

"Maybe if you master the basics, Dante will let you give your father's amulet a go!" The white titan suggested, reading a book of his own.

The teen sprang to her feet, eyes flashing with excitement, hair bouncing up and down as she rocked on the balls of her feet. "Let's get started then!" Dante gave a quiet laugh, remembering his own first lesson, and placed his book carefully on the table.

"The key to powers is controlling them on command, like this. Watch me." He lifted a hand in the air, and cried "Boltflare!" A bright, twisting, orange light burst into life in his palm. Loki's azure eyes went round, as she shielded them against the burning glow. As the auburn held the glow above them, the small titan on the table continued explaining.

"Seekers learn most powers by pouring over ancient tomes, but a simple one like Boltflare can be picked up with the aid of a fine teacher. Try it Loki!" He encouraged. She nodded once, and then raised her arm too.

"Boltflare!" She called quietly. The trio waited, but nothing happened. The girl blushed, and lowered her arm, subconsciously stepping further into the shadows that covered the library. She could feel her teacher's golden eyes gazing, sceptically, at her.

"Strange. Even a Seeker half your age should be able to conjure a candle-light." He muttered. Cherit flew across to the disheartened teen, curling around her neck comfortingly. Will's voice drifted down from where he was watching on the second floor.

"What it takes is hard work and study. I don't think that's Loki's style. She seems more of the happy-go-lucky type to me." Said girl stepped back under a balcony, out of view of her brunette friend.

"For this, I'd work hard, but I guess it wouldn't do any good… "She muttered to Cherit. The titan hugged her, and then flew back to his spot on the table. Dante's eyes glinted with an idea, and he turned to face the teen.

"Loki, remember that amulet I gave you?" The blonde gave him a confused look, before it cleared, and she reached into her belt-pouch.

"You mean this?" The sapphire-orbed teen asked, pulling out a grey, shield-shaped amulet with a blue stone at the centre. "Hey, isn't this a…? Yeah…what did you call it? Come, Freelancer!" The girl mused to herself, before raising her arm again, the amulet clasped within in glowing pinky-gold, like the sky at dawn. The glow rushed from her hand to cover the entire teen, and her face lit up with a joyous smile. Dante and Cherit stepped away, shielding their eyes from the blinding light.

"Hi ho, what's this?" The titan cried, whilst Will and Dante made noises of surprise, their eyes wide. The golden-eyed man looked at his student, and grinned proudly at the light that flowed from her to fill the vaulted hall.

Suddenly, the light flared, and in that moment, the armoured titan like the one that Dante had invoked last night came forth from the stone in the pendant's middle, and landed on the second storey's balcony, in front of a disbelieving Casterwill. The light surrounding Loki faded, and went out.

Cherit grinned at his friends, and crowed: "It's as I said! I knew it!" The blonde lowered her arm, and put a hand to her hand.

"What happened? What did I just do?" She asked, looking from the titan to the russet-haired man and back again, a little scared by their enormous grins and proud expressions. The blue titan she had summoned jumped down from where he was standing, making Will's hair wave in the breeze he created, and landed before the fair-haired girl with a soft chink of metal. His Seeker stepped back, eyes huge in her face, as she stared at the newest addition to the room. The titan knelt before her, head bowed in deep respect.

She turned to Dante, a hesitant smile playing on her lips. "He's asking me what I want, right?" The man was quick to reply.

"That's called the Bond. Titan's don't usually talk- Cherit is an exception. Seekers and Titans share a bond that lets them communicate." The hesitant smile grew into a proper one, and its owner turned back to her Freelancer.

"Hello, my friend." The girl whispered to him, remembering the visions she had seen when she had first got the titan's amulet. "We're going to have many adventures together, you and I." Freelancer stood, and its fire-eyes grew bright. Even without a face, Loki knew he was smiling.

"Alright, alright. Now, how about giving me a hand so we can finish up sometime today?" This came from Will, who had run down stairs to join them after Freelancer had appeared. Loki nodded, then returned Freelancer to his amulet, and followed.

* * *

><p>The foursome continued their work, but came up blank a few hours later. "Any luck yet?" Asked Loki, as she walked over to where Will was sitting, and took a chair for herself. The boy shook his head despondently.<p>

"Not really. There's not much in the journal that survived." At a look from Dante, the boy didn't mention the intact page. The older Seeker was going to ask the blonde about it later.

The girl winced, remembering how she had felt as the book fell into the canal. Dante walked over to where the two were searching, his eyes grave. "Better hurry. Once the sun goes down, the Organization will make their move." The blonde glanced at her watch, then out the window at the sun.

"That's less than two hours from now!" She yelped, her quick mind working it out in seconds. Will closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples thoughtfully.

"Think Loki, when you were reading through the journal before, was there anything on the Amulet of Will?" He asked, sitting up again, eyes bright with hope. Loki nodded slowly.

"Maybe, let me think, what was it…?" She leapt to her feet. "The Amulet of Will sleeps with the Golem!" The group gathered round, new resolution in their eyes.

"Golem?" Dante asked, his voice trying to contain his excitement- he was meant to be a professional for goodness sake, and that meant not acting like a rookie on their first mission!

"The myth of the Golem originated in Prague! I know just the book!" The ever-knowledgeable Will got up, and disappeared among the shelves of tomes. Dante looked after him with a stern expression.

"Prague is called the City of Mysteries for a reason. It's a dangerous place for a treasure hunt." He told the blonde still by the table, where she had picked up her father's journal with gentle, delicate hands, leafing through the ruined pages with a tender expression on her face. She knew that she had made the first step on the journey to find her dad.

Looking up, she smiled with anticipation. "Does that mean we're going?" Cherit flew to sit on the girl's shoulder, a place he was becoming fond of, and smiled up at her. He could feel her excitement as clearly as his own.

"Probably." Dante confirmed. A voice rang out, a man's, and it was full of anger. The owner stepped out from behind a pillar, and Loki jumped, having not noticed him there.

"No! Prague is too dangerous. My master will not go!" It was the man with the braid, and the mark on his forehead. He was holding a sparing stick behind his back, the end poking up above his head.

"You must be Santiago, Will's bodyguard." Dante said, his voice calm and unaffected.

"I made an oath to keep William safe from danger in any form, but in such a city, even I cannot protect him. I will not let you recklessly endanger his life!" The dark-eyed man pointed a furious hand towards Dante. The mahogany-haired man shot a quick glance at Loki, whose mouth had made an 'o' of surprise. How strange that this man was echoing his very thoughts for the teen by his side. Mentally shaking his head, the gold-eyed Seeker turned to face Santiago again.

"You should take it up with him, but I gotta tell you, he doesn't look like the type to change his mind." In a way, Dante was arguing with himself again, repeating the conversation he had had in his head the night before, when the blonde girl had asked him to teach her.

The dark-haired man shook his head. "This is between me and you." He said quietly. Dante asked him what he meant, though he knew full well what Santiago wanted. "There is only one way to know what you're made of," He replied, twirling his stick dangerously. "Fight me, one on one!" Loki quickly scampered out the way. Dante nodded, and picked up a nearby mop, pushing of the end so he had a stick of his own.

"If you want to dance, I'll show you some steps." The two warriors faced each other with stony gazes, weapons levelled at each other, but not moving. Cherit started to panic.

"Dante looks serious, maybe it's best we find Will so he can stop them!" The blonde teen looked down at her tiny friend, and asked him an important question.

"Cherit, do you trust Dante?" The titan nodded.

"Aye, that I do." Blue eyes looked at the two men, before flicking back to meet the grey eyes of the titan.

"Dante doesn't look like he's about to fight, he looks like he's solving a puzzle. And this guy's the puzzle!" Dante smiled, the kid was sharp, he'd give her that.

Cherit turned to regard the two fighters again. "Mayhap you're right, Dante's sure to know what he's doing." Santiago, seeing Dante's smirk, leapt forwards with a yell. The russet-haired Seeker swung his stick, but the other blocked.

The two exchanged blows, before Dante launched a kick at Santiago's head. The man ducked to avoid it, and swept his leg across the floor, trying to trip his opponent, his stick following suit. Dante jumped up, flipping over his mop handle, and landed in a fighting stance on the railing at the top of the curving double staircases. "Impressive!" Crowed Cherit, whilst Loki cheered. Santiago gave another yell, and came at Dante again.

Dante jumped over his attack, and cartwheeled along the railing, Santiago running to keep up. He came to the end, and flipped onto the stair below, his opponent following. "I have the high ground!" The dark-haired man cried, victory clear in his tone. Dante's face remained impassive. The man lunged at the Seeker again, but he dodged, and the stick got stuck in the banister, where Dante snapped it. Stepping back, the golden-eyed man threw away his own stick, and smiled. The teen and the titan rushed to the railings to see.

"I'm lost just watching!" The human cried, and her titan friend nodded his agreement.

Shouting a battle cry, Santiago leapt for Dante, and attacked with a flurry of punches, lightning fast. They were all blocked by his rival. Grabbing the braided man's wrist, the russet-haired man lashed out a leg in a kick. Santiago used Dante's arm as leverage to jump onto the leg, and then over Dante's head, throwing the man in a judo move. Dante went flying through the air, towards the end of the third storey stairs.

He flipped as he went, and landed on both feet right on the edge of the railing, his face calm, and eyes closed. Somehow, during the fight, the auburn had managed to tie Santiago's wrist to the banisters. The eastern man was panting, and looking at his wrist in shock. When had that happened?

"You've been well trained, but you don't have the experience to take me on. This duel is over." Dante turned from where he was standing, and jumped down onto the stairs again. Loki cheered, and Cherit looked smug.

"Are you satisfied now, Santiago?" The titan croaked. The dark-eyed man looked away, ashamed he had lost.

Now that the duel wasn't keeping her attention, the blonde looked out one of the many windows. "Urm, how much longer before the Organization shows up?"

* * *

><p>The answer was none. They were gathered outside the door, Defoe and Grier at the head of the group. "It's time." Rumbled the green-blue eyed minion. Defoe gave a vicious grin.<p>

"Yes, this time I'll retrieve the journal." He produced the canister he had been playing with the night before from his pocket, and went to pour its contents onto the door's lion-shaped handle. A slimy, green substance dripped out, and one drop touched the knob, and it melted into a puddle of gold. "Personally."

* * *

><p>Inside, the group were gathered round Loki, who was sitting at a table with the journal. "Apparently there was a Seeker called Jodis Lore." Dante read from one of the other books.<p>

"And I bet he had that Will amulet!" Loki cried getting excited. She could sense the trail, like a bloodhound on the hunt.

Will leaned over the blonde's shoulder, gazing at the book before her. "I think we're getting close!" Cherit flew nearby, looking eager.

"I don't want to jinx it, but I think you're right!" Santiago said nothing, as he was busy sulking.

"Will, get every book you can on Lore." The boy nodded, and picked up his bag, in order to carry more books.

"Dante, what are we looking for?" The blue-eyed teen still at the table asked quietly. The russet-haired Seeker could hear the hope she was desperately trying to hide in her voice.

"Who knows? Just follow your instincts." He replied, not wanting to say he had no idea. Will and Cherit nodded determinedly.

"I'll help." Said the titan. There was a bang as the library doors flew open, and a sinister voice rang out.

"We won't." The Organization had arrived. A seemingly endless amount of suits filed in through the double door, with Grier and Defoe at the head of the attack force. "Now then." He hissed menacingly.

Will and the others raced to the railing, and looked down on their enemies. "We were so close!" The emerald-eyed teen cursed. Dante's eyes flickered between his two charges, and the mass of suits below.

"We still are." He told the teens, then jumped over the side, a battle cry on his lips. The two kids ran back to the books, and started to gather what they needed. After a moment's hesitation, Loki stepped away from the table.

"I think Will can do this faster without me." She told the small titan on the table, running a hand nervously through her hair. "We should help Dante." The white creature nodded, eyes lighting up.

"That's the spirit!" He cried, launching into the air with a beat of his wings, following the young woman as she ran to help her mentor. They passed Santiago, who rolled his eyes, and jumped over the banisters into the fray.

One suit reached into his jacket, and pulled out the deformed-beetle amulet that belonged to Redcaps. He invoked his titan with a flourish, feeling sure that his contribution would put him into his master's good books. Another suit followed his example, and produced a Mindrone. Soon the room was filled with Redcaps and Mindrone, their cries filling the once studious hall.

Loki, seeing the inhuman enemies, halted on the second level. She knew she could help against humans, but against titans she stood no chance. Dante also saw the titans, how could he not with the sheer amount of them, and gave a grim smile. "If you boys want a fight, you got one!" He began to glow blue with a summoning. "Caliban!" The Aztec appeared, twirling his hooked blade with both hands. The warrior immediately set to work against his opponents, destroying two Redcaps almost instantly.

Santiago set two suits and a Redcap flying with a "Touchram!" his hand glowing green, revealing that he, too, was a Seeker. He moved till he was back to back with the man he was fighting with, not half an hour ago.

"Thanks for the assist." Dante muttered, keeping his eyes on his enemies. Santiago did then same.

"I still don't trust you!" He told the other Seeker.

* * *

><p>Up on the upper level, Loki was doing her bit, dropping bucket and other objects onto the suits heads. In the heat of the battle, no one, not even the blonde herself, noticed the blue-grey mist that covered the buckets and her hands, making them land perfectly every time. The blue-eyed girl didn't even notice, or know, she was doing it, just like when she had protected the book on the canal. When she turned around to get more 'ammo', the teen found herself face to face with two suits and their Redcaps.<p>

* * *

><p>Back on the ground floor, Grier was watching Dante Vale as he set a man down with a flurry of punches to his stomach, before moving his attention to the man's Caliban, who was throwing suits left and right. He noticed the way the man made a break in the fighting with a "Boltflare!" then looked up to the second floor with worry in his eyes. Following his gaze, the blond minion knew that there must be something Dante Vale was protecting up there. Using his not-so-great intelligence, the man deduced that it could only be the girl and the book, the two things he himself was looking for!<p>

Grier decided to finish the fight, and pulled an amulet from around his neck, raising his arm to invoke the creature within. The amulet was rather simple compared to the others, with no hidden meanings or messages. It was in the shape of a bears' head. "Charge, Breaker!" He yelled, glowing purple, and summoning a four-armed bear wearing ancient tattoos and markings.

The titan snarled, and did as it was bid, charging Dante. The man was busy fighting a suit, and he couldn't see the danger approaching from behind. However, Caliban had, and he leapt to protect his friend and master, catching the bear's claws on his sword. Dante looked around as he felt the titan's shadow on him, and nodded his thanks to the Aztec warrior, before diving back into the battle.

Defoe, having known the same things Grier had noticed all along, growled at his right-hand from where they were both standing on the side-lines. "This is taking too long!" He yelled, wrenching his own amulet from his neck, and calling for the titan that resided in it. He glowed an ugly blood red, and cried: "Kreutalk!" A manta-rayish titan appeared from the amulet, although this manta ray had five red eyes, and human arms. It floated in the air as if swimming, and gave off an aura of danger.

Screeching its anger, the titan spat a green fluid at Santiago, who was the nearest one to it at the time. The man dodged, knocked two suits out at once, then began to glow green, invoking his own titan. Dark fog gathered around him, a piercing green light from a shrunken-shaped amulet the only thing that could be seen through it. The bodyguard's voice rang out: "Be swift, Shinobi!" A samurai warrior appeared, its lower half nothing but fog. Eyes glowing red, it moved faster than the eye could follow, and almost seemed to teleport itself from one place to another. He 'teleported' himself behind Kreutalk, and stabbed it with one of his two swords. Kreutalk screamed, and disappeared in a flash of light that flowed back to Defoe, making the man wince.

* * *

><p>Back upstairs; Will was bent over a pile of books. "Come on! Come on! It's got to be around here somewhere!"<p>

Meanwhile, Loki was backing away from two Redcaps, and their grinning masters. "Will, aren't you done yet?" She called to the brunette, her voice a little shaky with panic. Cherit was whining softly. "There's no end to these guys! We can't hold them back all night!"

Emerald eyes continued reading, their owner shouting back to the blonde. "Just one more minute!"

The suits, seeing their chance when Loki was distracted, ordered their titans to attack. "Hurry Loki!" Cherit squeaked, looking at her like she held the answers. The girl looked back hopelessly.

"What about you, Cherit? You're a titan, right?" The little creature tilted his head in thought before replying.

"Well, there is this," He took in a giant breath, and shot it out as a multi-coloured beam. It hit one Redcap, and it went down in a burst of light.

"Alright! Go, Cherit!" The fair-haired teen cheered, before noticing the little titan stop flying, and fall to the ground. "Cherit? Cherit, are you alright?" The titan nodded, his ears drooping.

"Need…. to rest." The white being whispered. Through the smoke of the first Redcap's destruction, the second appeared, roaring angrily.

The azure-eyed girl looked from the monster to her friend, panic rising in her blue depths. "What can I do?" She asked the knowledgeable creature.

"Your amulet! Quickly, now!" The titan ordered, his voice weak.

"But that was a fluke! I can't concentrate with all this crazy stuff happening!" the teen cried, pulling Freelancer's amulet out of her belt-pouch. Cherit raised his head to look her in the eyes, and gasped out a warning.

"There's no time. Do it now!"

The Redcap, having gotten much closer, reached out its claws for the girl's pale face. She raised an arm to ward it off, and in doing so realised she had, in a sense, been here before. This was one of the visions she had been given when she had bonded with the titan!

Knowing she could do it, the teen repeated the words she had heard herself say. "Help, Freelancer!" Closing her eyes, she missed the appearance of the armoured titan, and instead felt a light burning bright against her eyelids. Opening them a crack, she saw the orange glow she had seen in a different vision, the one of Freelancer with his lance in the body of a Redcap, protecting her. The suits gasped at how quickly the titan had been invoked, and knew that if the girl had invoked the titan earlier, they wouldn't have even got this close to her.

Loki took the hand that Freelancer held out to her, and he pulled her to her feet. She planted herself in front of Cherit's prone form, and the blue warrior stood in front and to the right of her, his shield ready to protect his mistress. "Are you sure you want to mess with my titans?" She taunted, already knowing the answer. They turned and ran.

Hearing a yell behind her, the blonde flew around, and saw Will at the end of one table, a suit threatening him with a Raypulse. "Will!" She yelled, and tried to go to help. Freelancer took her arm, holding her back, and shook his head. Through the Bond, the titan told her she was on the wrong side to help, and that the Boltflare could easily be directed at her from that angle. That didn't stop her reaching an arm towards her friend, praying he'd be okay. Neither her target nor the blonde noticed the luminous blue-grey shield that now surrounded the boy. Her shout, however, had done the job, and alerted the others to the emerald-eyed lad's danger.

"My lord!" Cried Santiago, and he leapt from the fight to go to his master's aid. Before he could reach the boy however, a Mindrone blocked him. Dante looked up, saw the problem, and used Hyperstride to jump to the Casterwill's side, taking the shot meant for Will as he reached the upper level.

"Dante! Why'd you do that?" Emerald eyes glinted with worry, and their owner wanted to race to the auburn's side, but the suit was still blocking him. Caliban was still fighting the four-armed bear, but seeing his master's own danger, kicked Breaker in the midriff, sending him flying, before leaping up to deal with the suit. He smashed him with a fist, both knocking him unconscious and sending him soaring in one swift move.

Loki, now that the danger had passed and Freelancer had let her go, rushed over, worry evident on her face. Dante let her help him up, before reassuring her he was fine. "Dante, are you okay?" She asked, even though he had told her he was okay. The man rolled his golden eyes, and nodded.

"I'm fine, but I think it's time we left." He told them, as Will hurried over, carrying a mountain of books.

"I think these books have all the information we need." The boy said confidently. The azure-eyed Seeker beside him laughed.

"Yeah, just about. Here, let me help carry them." Will reluctantly handed over half the pile, so each teen held three books. They started to run. Santiago saw them begin to leave, and snarled, throwing a smoke bomb to the floor, motioning for Shinobi to do the same. Breaker, now recovered from his flight, ran to the stairs, and jumped to the mid-way landing. When he had half-scrambled up, he looked confused, if it is possible for a bear to do so, at the sight of a bookcase flying towards him. The cloud of dust that exploded when it hit, along with the smoke bombs, filled the lower level with smoke, causing the suits, Grier and Defoe to choke.

"The Organization is distracted! Now!" Dante shouted, vaulting over the banister. Will followed, and the russet-haired man caught Loki when she jumped. The teen shot him a half thankful, half angry glare. The golden-eyed Seeker rolled his eyes, and set her down.

"I can take care of myself!" The blonde hissed, but Dante could tell that she was glad she didn't get the chance to embarrass herself by falling over. The trio ran for the back exit, joined by Santiago on the way, with Freelancer bringing up the rear with Cherit in his arms, leaving their bags, and Dante's coat, behind.

Will led the way, having spent many hours in the library. As he neared the door, Defoe spotted the boy, and sent a bolt after him. Luckily, it got a book, and not the teen, but it sent the book spinning away from the group. The young Casterwill went to retrieve it, not wanting The Organization to have any ideas about their plans, but was pulled back by Dante. "Forget it!" The chocolate-haired man yelled, dragging the boy behind him.

The group escaped, and made for Will's mansion.

Defoe marched forwards; furious they had got away, and tripped over the book. Bending down, the man picked up the item, leafing through its pages. He laughed chillingly. "So, they're going to Prague. Perfect!"

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><p>A few hours, and suitcases, later the group was at Marco Polo Airport, about to catch a plane.<p>

Loki had decided to wear something different for the flight, and so was in a short sapphire-blue dress, and black leggings. It was her most comfortable outfit, and she wanted to nap on the plane- or at least, that's what she told herself. Of course, it had nothing to do with the way it brought out the alabaster of her skin tone, the gold in her hair, or the colour of her eyes. It definitely had nothing to do with the way it made Will look at her, not at all.

Will had wandered off with Santiago to buy the tickets, leaving Loki and Dante to stay with the luggage. The russet-haired man had guessed why the blonde had changed outfits, and was laughing in his head. The two teens were so close already, and it was obvious to him that they liked each other, even more so that neither one was going to admit it.

The blue-eyed girl sighed, and folded her arms behind her head. "It'll be nice to see Prague and get away from this suit infected city for a while." Dante turned to look at her, his face serious.

"Prague's a hundred times worse." It was almost comical, the way her eyes widened.

"What! Oh, come on!" Cherit popped his head out of Dante's carry-on to join the chat.

"It's true! Prague is The Organization's home." Looking more carefully at his young friend, the white titan raised an eyebrow. "You look nice." The blonde blushed, but turned the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Are you serious?" She moaned, and sat down; turning her legs sideways modestly, and held her head in her hands. The small being nodded.

"That dress brings out the deeper blue in your eyes. You look very pretty, lass. Doesn't she, Dante?" The girl blushed deeper, and waved away the comment before the gold-eyed Seeker could reply.

"I mean about Prague, you silly titan!" Cherit gave the russet-haired man beside his bag a look, but was interrupted by Santiago genuflecting on the floor beside them.

"Forgive me." He pleaded, head bowed to the floor. Dante looked around, at the other people, anywhere but the man before him.

"I forgive you already; now get off the floor before you attract a crowd!" He reached down a hand to help the other man up. "You just did what you thought was right."

The dark-haired bodyguard shook his head. "No, I was jealous, but you are far more fit to protect the lord then I am. I'm trusting you to see him safely returned home." He looked away, ashamed, and missed Dante's comforting smile.

"Of course. He's my client." The two warriors bowed to each other, before Santiago began to walk away. As he passed Loki, he raised an eyebrow at her attire.

"Nice dress. Very suitable for fighting, and for going out." Unfortunately, the blonde looked up at the statement, and caught the look that went with it.

"Will everyone stop doing that?" She raged, and stormed off to find Will, not wanting to hang around with the others. Dante went to follow her, fatherly feelings stirring, but Cherit called him back.

"There was a girl in a village I visited once. She was very beautiful, but completely unaware, even when she wore her best clothes to impress her sweetheart. It is best not to mention looks to girls like her, and Loki. They just get flustered, and run off, like she did. I think it is because they value brains over beauty." The auburn looked down at his titan friend, eyebrow raised.

"If that's true, why did you call her pretty? And since when were you so knowledgeable on women, anyways?" The titan blushed.

"I forgot, but what I said is true!" The white creature cried, now flustered himself.

* * *

><p>On the plane, Loki was looking out the window, a troubled expression marring her delicate features. Cherit, deeming it safe to come out his bag on the seat next to the girl's, poked out his head, and saw the look on her face. "What's wrong?" He asked, worried for the child. "Trouble sleeping?"<p>

The blonde shook her head, and pulled her legs up under her chin. "I was just thinking. Santiago risks everything for Will, and he's not even related to him." The titan looked away.

"Aye, he's very brave." The mini-titan croaked, having a feeling about where this conversation was headed.

The blue-eyed teen continued, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "It makes me feel like an idiot. Yesterday I was ready to give up on my father, on this whole world. I was willing to run away from everything he left me." Cherit's gaze was full of sympathy.

"Loki, don't say that. Your life was tipped upside down. It must come as a bit of a shock, knowing that all the myths and legends of the mortal world are true."

"Don't worry, Cherit." The flaxen-haired girl said, smiling softly. "I never want to think like that again. I'll become a Seeker, and follow his footsteps. I promise." The titan nodded, humming appreciatively, as the plane sped into the night.

* * *

><p>In a suit-driven car on the motorway, Defoe was staring out at those same stars. Grier was beside him in the back seat, reading the book the Casterwill boy had dropped.<p>

"Grier, send word to my boys in Prague I'm coming home. Get ready for a hunt." The blonde minion smiled.

"Yes sir."

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><p>AN: And there you go! The WxL begins! End of episode 2! Next episode, the mysterious Zhalia Moon appears for the first time! Till then, please reveiw!<p> 


	8. Chapter 7 Words of Truth, Heart of Lies

AN: I would of had this up earlier, but my internet went berserk. *shakes fist at internet again* Here it is, the one you've all been waiting for (or, at least, some of you)! The first appearance of Zhalia!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 7- Words of Truth, Heart of Lies Part 1

Loki gazed out the window of her hotel room, and thought about how far she had come in the past few days. Sure, Venice was a beautiful city, full of ancient places and old buildings, but now she was in Prague, The City of Mysteries. She could almost feel the millions of puzzles and riddles that lay outside the Huntik Foundation run hotel, and felt a fierce longing to solve them, the yearning she had grown up with, that her father had given her.

The blonde laughed softly to herself. Some people got a love of reading from their parents, others their taste of fashion or music, and she had got her love of puzzles and, thankfully, her father's quick mind for solving them.

In the silence, she heard a noise behind her, breaking her quiet solitude. The teen turned her head, blue eyes already searching for intruders, her feet slipping into the fighting stance that Dante and Will had been teaching her over the past two days they had spent in the city. Seeing her 'intruder' properly, she relaxed, and smiled softly. "Hello Cherit. Is something the matter?" The white titan hovering in the doorway shook his head, ears flopping everywhere

"No lass, I'm fine. In fact, I was coming to ask you the same thing. You've been in here all day. Dante and Will are getting worried, so I decided to come and see if anything was wrong." The girl padded over to her bed, and gestured for the creature to come and sit beside her.

She sighed, and told the titan what was on her mind. "I still can't perform any Seeker powers. Not even a flicker of light. And although I've been practising, I still can't beat Will. If I land a hit, it's through pure luck, not skill." The titan rested a hand on hers, and looked at her with solemn grey eyes.

"You've not even been a part of this world for a full week, my girl. I wouldn't have been surprised if you couldn't hit Will after a month of training. Both Dante and Will have been raised to be Seekers, Will more so than anyone. You're doing so well, and I couldn't be more proud." The human looked away, blushing.

"I still feel I'm letting the team down, Cherit. You heard Dante, back in Venice. Even a Seeker half my age can conjure a candle-light!" Her hands balled into fists, ashamed of herself.

Cherit nodded. "Aye, that be true, but can a Seeker half your age summon Freelancer, and keep him invoked for over a minute, and control him, in the midst of battle with enemies all around them?" Loki looked at him through her bangs, not knowing the answer. Seeing that, the titan answered for her. "By the gods, they could not! Even if they could have invoked such a difficult titan, to keep him invoked, let alone control him, requires much more advanced training. Freelancer respects you, lass, and that is something that cannot be taught."

Looking much better, the blonde teen stood up, and offered her shoulder for the titan to sit on. "Thank you, little friend. That means a lot, coming from you." The pair walked into the sitting area of the suite they had been given, to find Dante and Will gathered around a table, the older man standing whilst the brunette sat on one of the many chairs, discussing various plans of action. They were so caught up in their argument, they didn't notice the others enter the room.

"Going to start without me, were you?" The two men jumped, and turned to look sheepishly at the blonde, who was standing with her hands on her hips, tapping one foot on the floor. Though she didn't show it, the girl was desperately trying not to laugh at the expressions on her teammate's faces. Deciding to let them off the hook, for now, she let loose her laughter, and walked over. "You two look like children with their hands in the cookie jar! Oh, how I wish I had a camera!" She sat on the table, feet resting on one chair, savouring the moment. "Tell me what's happening."

The russet-haired Seeker shot a last glare at his emerald-eyed companion, before turning to the group, and proclaiming: "Seekers, we have a mission." Both blue and green eyes were rolled, and a little snigger was heard from Cherit's direction. Dante glared at them, but continued, placing a small machine with tribal symbols covering the lid on the table. "Show me Prague Central Cemetery." The symbols glowed green and the lid of the rectangular device opened, revealing it to be the strange object from Loki's Bonding vision. A green hologram of the cemetery materialized, and began to rotate. It was reminiscent of the way Egyptologists showed tombs, with the lower levels shown with the top.

Loki's eyes widened with excitement, remembering how she had always dreamed of things like this. "Is that…. a hologram?" She asked eagerly, looking from Dante to Will, and then back to the image before her.

It was Will who answered. "Not quite. It's a holo_tome,_ Loki. Seeker groups like the Foundation use them to plan missions, gather information, and analyse titans." The boy tapped the floating image, causing a card to appear out of the depths of the holotome's light. Dante took up where he'd left off.

"Based on the information Will gathered, our goal is the tomb of the Wise Man of Prague, Jodis Lore. Mission: The Golem of Prague. Reach Prague Central Cemetery, find and access Jodis Lore's tomb, and gather clues about the Golem." He reached a hand into the image, and picked out the card that had appeared, causing the blonde next to him to coo appreciatively. The gold-eyed man snickered, making her glare and shove him.

"This is new to me, Mister Born-Knowing-Everything! To us normal mortals, this kind of technology is still years away!" Cherit giggled, and flew to sit on the girl's shoulder. Will laughed, and reached across the table to poke the girl in the side.

"What do you mean _us_ normal mortals? You forget, Loki, you are not a normal mortal, not anymore." The teen paused in her glare-at-Dante fest, and tilted her head, considering what the boy had said.

"True…. but I'm still more normal then you two!" Will bowed in his seat, and the blonde hit his head whilst it was down. "Snob!" Rubbing his head, the brunette glowered, before the whole group burst into laughter. The oldest Seeker pointed at the holotome again, bringing attention back to the matter at hand.

"Focus, you lot! We'll enter through here," He said, tapping the main gates on the hovering icon. They opened, and tiny figures of Loki, Dante, Will, and even Cherit, began to walk through them, acting out the plan. The blonde whistled again, and leaned closer.

"I bet you could play killer video games on this thing!"

* * *

><p>Outside the hotel, under a tree, a suit was holding a listening device, and could hear everything. He smiled, closed the machine, and walked away. He didn't see Solwing perched above his head, or see the titan fly to warn his master.<p>

* * *

><p>Back with the group, Dante was explaining the underground layer on the hologram. "If there is an underground chamber, it can't be bigger than this. It's likely we will be relying on small and medium size titans, like Solwing, and Sabriel." The holotome brought up pictures of the titans, and called out their statistics. Loki realized that this is what she had seen the machine doing for Freelancer.<p>

"How cool is that?" She asked, hopping off the table to look on level with the images. Solwing flew in through a window, making the teens jump, but Dante just held out his arm for the titan with a resigned expression. Cherit flew from Loki's shoulder to the table, looking with worry at his human friends.

"What if the Organization gets wind of our plans?" He croaked, looking to the russet-haired man for answers. None of them expected the answer that he gave.

"They already have." Loki went tense, looking around the room nervously, suddenly feeling trapped in the once safe walls.

"You're kidding! What do we do?" Dante smiled, and put a reassuring hand on the azure-eyed girl's shoulder.

"Relax. This hotel is run by the Huntik Foundation. We'll be safe, for a while." Will smirked at the gold-orbed man, and stood up, stretching.

"And it's not like a few suits would be any match for you, now would they, Dante?" He muttered sarcastically, before grabbing Loki's arm, and tugging it excitedly. "Now, come here Loki, let me show you my idea." The blonde shook him off, and began to walk away, her face paler than usual.

"I've got an idea. Let's take a break." The remaining members of the group shared a worried look, before staring after the retreating figure of the sapphire-orbed teen.

* * *

><p>In the back alleys of Prague, a young woman with midnight blue hair, and cold brown eyes was thrusting a trio of amulets into a pouch attached to a thigh-harness. Her clothes were modern, and eye-catching only because of their wearer- three-quarter length jeans with calf high boots, a floaty top that went down to her midriff, with another, tighter fitting one, underneath. Brushing her scarf out of her way, the woman picked an earpiece out of her ear with one delicate hand, flicking it onto the sidewalk, then stepping on it with a 'crunch'. Letting a satisfied smile flicker across her face, the stranger walked on- towards the Huntik Foundation's hotel.<p>

* * *

><p>Back in said hotel, Loki was in the bathroom, standing in front of the sink, one hand bracing herself against it, the other clutching her stomach. "Oh man, something doesn't feel right…" Looking down, she didn't see the threat until it was too late, and her fears were confirmed. A Redcap ripped open the shower curtain with a roar, shocking a scream from its young target.<p>

* * *

><p>In the main room, Dante and Will were still bent over the holotome. Suddenly a scream, and the unmistakable cry of a Recap, ripped through the silence. "Loki!" They cried together, leaping up from the table. Before they could reach the doors, the girl they were running to help burst through them, closely followed by the titan that had scared her. The titan, furious that its prey was running away, shredded the doorframes, roaring its anger. Will stepped back from the creature, towards the double bed in the room, shock evident of his face.<p>

"How'd that get in here?" He asked Dante, who was standing calmly by the table, watching the other Redcap that had popped its head out of the wardrobe. Without warning, the emerald-eyed Casterwill fell down with a yell, a Redcap that had been hiding under the bed tugging his ankle with its long claws. The boy began to kick it in the face, unable to turn to aim a power at it.

Dante sprang into action. He whipped a kick at the wardrobe door, slamming it shut, trapping the titan within. He then sent a Raypulse to free his young friend, who raced to his side, finding safety in numbers. "Solwing!" The experienced Seeker yelled, calling down the titan who had been flying around the vaulted ceiling. The bird-like titan soared to Loki's rescue, using its talons to distract the Redcap who was chasing her, whilst she got away.

"Loki! Over here!" It was Cherit, who was hiding under an upturned table. The frightened teen raced over, and ducked under. She felt around in her belt pouch for Freelancer's amulet, but instead found a massive tear along the bottom. "Damm it!" She hissed, worried now, for both herself, and for her missing titan. Her father's amulet hung, as always, around her neck, but she couldn't use that yet. The Seekers looked in horror as the front door burst open, two suits marching in, Augerfrosts at the ready.

Dante's gold eyes flickered from one suit to the other, before he kicked over the table, using it as a shield, sending his holotome to the floor. The two Augerfrost attacks hit it, shattering the wooden object. In the meanwhile, Will was using a pink and yellow shield, a Honourguard, to race across the open space to Loki's side, pulling her and Cherit over to Dante. The Organization advanced on the foursome, two suits and two Redcaps, the third still being preoccupied by Solwing.

Seeing that there was nothing he could do to chase his opponents off, Dante stepped in front of his young charges, ready to protect them both at all costs. However, before either side got any chance to attack, an explosion rocked the room, as a blue-haired woman, a small, green lizard-like titan on her shoulder, strode through the door, or at least, what was left of it.

"Touchram!" She yelled, sending a wave of green energy surging from her hand, knocking over two of the Redcaps, and destroying the windows. The lizard creature leapt from her shoulder, and knocked over the last Redcap with beams from its eyes.

Dante ran forwards with Will on his heels, his eyes burning, with a warning to the two suits before him. "You shouldn't turn your back!" He rolled, dodging an attack, then snapped up a leg to kick the nearest one's jaw. Will yelled a battle-cry, and joined the fight.

The original Redcap stirred, and got up, lumbering towards its former target- Loki. "Cherit!" The blonde yelled, "We have to do something!" The pint-sized titan nodded.

"Aye!" He shouted, before letting loose his powerful, multi-coloured beam, wiping out the enemy titan.

The two remaining enemies- Redcaps the both of them, the suits having fled after being dealt with by Dante and Will- turned to face the brown-eyed newcomer, roaring their outrage at being knocked down. The brunette teen moved to help, but stopped at a look from his auburn mentor.

The blue-haired woman ran towards her opponents, before leaping up and over their heads. When she landed, she drew a brown, oval amulet, with a red stone, from her thigh-pouch, calling: "Impale, Strix!" Three, giant, wasp-like titans flew from her amulet, and through the Redcaps, sending them back to their suits, wherever they might be, in a flash of light. The stranger called them back to their amulet, before mocking her now vanquished rivals. "Serves you right."

* * *

><p>A while later, the team were lounging around a tree in the park next to their hotel, Will and Loki on the floor, and the two adults leaning against the tree. On their way there, the brunette had been subtly checking his fellow teen for injuries, relieved when he could see none. The blonde had managed to find Freelancer in the bathroom where she had first been attacked, and was holding him tight in her hand, whispering apologies for letting him miss a chance to fight with her. The titan was sulking in his amulet, when she found him, but softened as he heard how worried his Seeker had been. Cherit was hiding in a picnic basket the group had brought with them, his head poking out one lid, and his tail the other.<p>

"So you're Zhalia Moon, the Foundation's new lone wolf." The russet-haired leader stated, looking the blue-haired Seeker up and down. "I've heard about you." The woman rolled chocolate coloured eyes, and nodded.

"And you're Dante Vale, the Foundation's number one protégé. Of course, everyone's heard about you." Blue eyes regarded the newcomer with curiosity, questions swimming in their depths.

"Zhalia…. so, you work for the Foundation?" She asked finally, not liking the awkwardness between the group. Zhalia nodded.

"Under contract, just like Dante." Will was just glaring at her suspiciously, and wondering how low the standards had got at the Foundation for this woman to be let into the ranks.

Glad to have gotten the conversation started, the blonde carried on. "Thanks for the save. You're such a strong Seeker." She muttered wistfully; thinking of her own lack of abilities. The stranger shrugged.

"I was in town on a mission, and heard about the Organization infiltrating your hotel." Coffee eyes looked closely at the younger members of the team. Due to the way the girl was acting, she was obviously new to the Seeker world, and in that way was unusual. If a child showed Seeker abilities, they were usually given to a lesser Seeker to be trained, not sent out into the field. The child's looks were familiar too, and her surname, Lambert… The woman nodded inwardly, now knowing who the kid was- the resemblances to Eathon Lambert were uncanny. The brunette was much easier to understand. The name Casterwill was famous worldwide, to Seekers at least.

The pint-sized titan in the basket gave a thumbs-up. "You did us good, friend." Zhalia shrugged again, causing Will to think, _"Is there anything else this woman _can_ do?"_

"I hope you weren't waiting around to be rescued. You got lucky. In this world, you have to look after yourself." The last comment was directed at the fair-haired kid, who stiffened, and looked away. Emerald eyes caught the exchange, and glared at the blue-haired woman by the tree.

"We could have handled it. At least then we wouldn't have to pay for the windows." It wasn't a great comeback, but it made Loki smile gratefully in the brunette's direction, and that made it worthwhile. Cherit had told Dante and Will earlier how useless Loki felt about her powers, and Will was determined to do everything he could to help her.

Dante was looking troubled, and after a questioning look from his students, said: "It bothers me that the Organization breached our hotel. Could they have a spy in the Huntik Foundation?" Zhalia was quick to answer.

"Of course they could. Haven't you heard the rumours about the one they call The Professor?"

Obviously, Loki had no idea who she was talking about, and had to ask the inevitable question. "The Professor? Who's that?"

Her mentor answered, wanting to teach his apprentices himself, and not leave it all to the newcomer. "The leader of the Organization. Possibly the most dangerous man on Earth." Zhalia nodded, and continued where the russet-haired Seeker had left off, earning a glare from golden eyes.

"He's one of the world's most powerful Seekers. His collection of amulets and ancient artefacts is the largest in history. He manipulates heads of state, along with his own men, with the skill to control minds."

The blonde teen tilted her head to one side, curious. "So, it's like a power?" Will looked across from where he was sitting.

"No. There's no magic _I_ know of that can do that." Said the Casterwill. Everyone nodded, and no one argued with the brunette- the Casterwill's had the most extensive knowledge of Seeker powers in the world, and so if a Casterwill said there wasn't a mind control power, there wasn't a mind control power.

The golden-haired girl sighed, and frowned in worry. "What is it, Loki?" Cherit asked from where he was sitting, in the basket at her feet.

The teen looked up, and a fathomless grief rolled and toiled in the depths of her cerulean eyes. "A guy like that….must be after the ancient Amulet of Will. I wonder if he crossed paths with my Dad?"

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><p>AN: ^.^ Another chapter done! Hey, this is actually starting to look like a story! A shout out to my newest reviewers, Key-hands, Tina, and Dark Rose.171! Your reviews were lovely, and I thank you for them. Another shout out to the ones who have been there all along, Janka and StarTime 101! Keep the motivation coming, guys!<p> 


	9. Chapter 8 Words of Truth Part 2

AN: Two chapters in one day, you lucky things! Now will you stop hounding me to go faster? Please?

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 8- Words of Truth, Heart of Lies Part 2

Loki looked around the night. It was hard to see, for there was no moon to light the way, and the stars were hidden behind clouds. Shivering, the blonde reached for Will's hand, remembering the stories of monsters her father had told her when she was little, and the way that all the legends seemed to be real.

The brunette jumped when he felt a hand in his, and turned around. Seeing the anxiety in the blue eyes behind him, the Casterwill pulled his friend closer, so she wasn't lagging behind, smiling reassuringly, as if sneaking into a creepy cemetery at night was something he did every day. Dante, at the head of the group, with Cherit on his shoulder, had reached the front gates, and was waiting for the others to catch up.

"Everyone, stick together, and remember the plan." He told them, passing Will a flashlight. The young Lambert shoved her hand into her belt-pouch, and held Freelancer's amulet tight in her hand, feeling comforted by the thought of the giant armoured titan within.

Together, the trio of humans and their titan friend moved deeper into the graveyard.

* * *

><p>"According to legend, Jodis Lore made the Golem out of Vltava river clay, then he brought it life by writing the word 'truth' on its forehead." Will told Loki as they made their way through the graves. If either one noticed they were still holding hands, they didn't mention it.<p>

"It's just hard to believe all this," The blonde waved a hand to signify the entire cemetery, "Is in the middle of a city." The brunette nodded, and carried on explaining with his vast knowledge.

"That's why all the graves are piled on top of each other, there was no room." He kept his flashlight moving, and an eye on his surroundings, and came to a halt when the light revealed a figure leaning on a gravestone. Zhalia.

"There'll be room enough for more if you're not careful." Emerald eyes narrowed at the blue-haired woman, and their owner kept Loki behind him, not trusting the stranger.

"Zhalia, are you stalking us?" The Casterwill hissed, glaring at the suspicious operative. Dante placed a hand on the boy's arm, letting him know it was okay.

"Take it easy, I asked her to come, alright." Now it was the chestnut-haired man's turn to endure the Casterwill's fury.

"What?" The jade eyes never left the brown ones that belonged to Zhalia, and the tension between them was almost visible. The striking woman padded over, graceful as a cat, and twice as deadly.

"Prague is a hostile place. Foundation operatives have to stay close." Will directed the light towards the coffee-eyed adult again, causing her to raise a hand to shield her eyes.

"Not that close." He muttered, only loud enough for it to reach Loki's ears. She giggled, and then grew serious.

"Come on, Will. She's powerful- with her help we'll have a better chance at finding the Amulet of Will, and my father. Please?" She asked, her eyes wide as possible. The boy looked away, knowing he couldn't resist that puppy-dog look. Cherit sniggered, seeing the way the two teens acted towards each other. It was obvious to everyone else that they liked each other- why couldn't they see it! The titan shook his head. Humans! Always so complex!

Zhalia, in the meantime, snorted. "You've got some faith, kid. You must have had a pretty easy life." The azure eyes hardened, and their owner moved to regard the indigo-haired Seeker properly.

"Harder than you'd think, Zhalia Moon, but it was a sight better than some others I've seen. But whatever I was before doesn't matter. I'm a Seeker now, and that won't change." Will squeezed the blonde's hand comfortingly, and she smiled at him. Saying those words had been harder than she'd expected.

Dante and Cherit smiled, sharing a look of pleasant surprise. It seemed the doubts the teen had had earlier about her use to the team had disappeared. The golden-eyed Seeker turned and began to lead the group deeper into the graveyard. "Jodis Lore's tomb is this way. Keep your eyes peeled." He called back over his shoulder.

* * *

><p>When the team found the grave, their progress stopped for a while. "It's just a normal inscription." Will cried in frustration. Cherit flew to sit atop the gravestone, his tail flicking back and forth in agitation.<p>

An idea came to the little titan. "Loki, wasn't there something in your journal about the Golem?"

The teen plucked the book out of her bag, surprised at how quickly the journal had become hers, and not her father's. "I think so," She told the white creature, "But I can't make it out, the page is ruined. There's a line here though, I think it says 'The blood of the Golem'."

Will looked confused. "The Golem isn't flesh and blood- its made out of clay." He grabbed a fistful of the stuff from beside the grave, and smeared it on the stone.

Zhalia sighed, and made to draw the teens away. "Will, that's not going to do anything." Dante glared at her. He was starting to get annoyed by the way this woman put everyone down.

"Just watch."

Loki stared with unseeing eyes at the clay for a moment, before reaching forwards to smile at the brunette in front of her. "Clay didn't bring the Golem to life- the word truth did! Will, can you write the symbol for truth on the clay?" Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, the idea coming to life before her.

With a shaking hand, the jade-eyed teen wrote a series of scribbles that meant absolutely nothing to the others. Soon after, the ground began to shake beneath them, and Dante leapt forwards to pull the two gawping teens back from the grave- which was opening, the stone slab on the floor sliding away to reveal a set of stairs. Zhalia glared at the hole, hating to be proven wrong, and Will walked past her with a smug smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Unknown to them, cloaked figures were running towards them from all directions. The Organization was closing in.<p>

* * *

><p>The group followed Will down the stairs, Dante bringing up the rear. The man paused for a second, digging out three metal balls from his trench coat pocket, and dropping them on the staircase. His watch immediately started flashing, letting the russet-haired Seeker know that it had connected with the trackers. Seeing that her mentor wasn't with the team, Loki turned to call over her shoulder. "Dante, you coming?" The man smiled before starting after her.<p>

"Right behind you."

* * *

><p>The team reached a large hall, it's floor riddled with light and dark blocks of clay. Zhalia, who had pushed in front of Will to lead, stopped, unwilling to go any further. "I smell a trap." She stated. Dante just kept walking, gently brushing of the blonde teen's worried hand.<p>

"We're running out of time, so let me explain. Only step on the lighter ones. The Golem was made from Vltava river clay, remember? It always dries light?" Nodding, the blue-haired woman strode after him.

"The brilliant Dante Vale earns his reputation." She purred, earning a glare from everyone this time. _"Gods,"_ Thought Will. _"This woman is annoying."_

They reached a locked door, at the end of a corridor that led from the clay hall, and Zhalia bent down to pick the lock. The way she seemed confident at doing the activity, only served to reinforce her personality in the brunette's mind- dubious. Suddenly, Dante's watch began to beep. The owner held out a hand to stop the teens following, then began to run back the way they'd came. "Stay here!"

The Organization had arrived.

* * *

><p>Dante can to a stop at the entrance to the clay hall, and the end away from where Zhalia and the teens were working. "Evening gentleman. May I take your cloaks?" He mocked as Defoe, Grier, and their forces threw off the pitiful disguises. The suits all shot a Raypulse at the Foundation agent at the same time, and when the light had cleared, the mahogany-haired man was being held by Grier, unable to break free.<p>

"Defoe," He snarled, glaring at the man standing before him. The team, hearing the commotion, came running from the locked door. They stared in shock at the sight before them- Dante had been beaten? The captured man sighed. Did those two ever do as they were told? He began to pity LeBlanche, Santiago, and Eathon Lambert- those poor men had had to deal with them when they were hyperactive children!

Zhalia was the first to recover. "Raypulse!" She yelled, sending a handful of suits flying. Will, not wanting to be outdone, shot his own bolt of heat to knock over a few suits.

Loki subtly pointed a hand at a suit, and muttered "Boltflare!" under her breath. Nothing happened. Will and Dante, having seen, looked at the girl with compassion- her abilities still weren't surfacing. Blue-haired and always mean, Zhalia laughed.

"A Seeker that can't even use Boltflare! How pathetic!" The teen blushed, and stepped back into the shadows.

"I can still fight!" She hissed, pulling out a blue and grey amulet from her belt-pouch. "Come to my aid Freelan-" She broke off with a scream as one of the suits stepped on a dark clay block, turning the whole left side of the room into thick, viscous clay, with massive hands that reached to pull their victims under. One such hand had grabbed the blonde teen, who tried to kick it off, but only succeeded in getting her other foot trapped in the sticky mud.

"Loki!" Yelled Will, green eyes wide with concern. He ran to pull her back, Zhalia following, but the two of them got yanked in by hands of their own. Defoe, not bothering that one of his suits had gone under and had not come back up, laughed.

"Brilliant, you've slipped into Jodis Lore's trap! Just try to invoke your titans now!" Fierce blue eyes glared at him, as their owner struggled to keep their head above the broiling muck. The azure-eyed girl recognised the greasy man now, and felt a surge of hatred that left her gasping for breath.

Dante, seeing all this from his place in Grier's arms, felt his captor relax, thinking the Huntik team defeated. _"Big mistake."_ The Seeker thought, whipping back an elbow to get the man in the face. As the blonde minion doubled over, the golden-eyed man slipped free, a predator's grin on his face.

Defoe stepped back, scared now his enemy wasn't helpless. "Kreutalk, attack, now!" The manta ray-like titan appeared beside his master in an instant, and spat a stream of acid towards the Foundation agent.

The russet-haired Seeker dodged, and pivoted to see three new suits run into the room. _"Even if I get an opening to invoke Caliban, there are too many of them!"_ He thought, fear gripping his heart as he heard the desperate cries of his teammates as they fought against the mud-hands. Defoe pointed a contemptuous hand in the auburn's direction, and spat "Poisonheat!" A spray of acid, not unlike Kreutalk's, flowed from his hand, aimed at Dante.

"_I must trick them. Let them hit me!" _The Seeker thought. He closed his eyes, braced himself, and felt a searing burning feeling on his chest. The Poisonheat attack had hit its mark.

"Dante! No!" cried the blonde, no longer concerned for her own safety. She reached a hand forward, feeling the need to help her friend and mentor, but was held back by the mud and clay that was pulling her down. A flicker of blue-grey mist collected in her hand, but it was covered by the muck and no one saw. The mist sped across the room to gather around Dante's prone form, and the man felt it surround him. He drew away, scared by the powerful magic, before he noticed a familiar edge to it. It felt like _Loki_, like her kindness and her compassion. It felt blue like her eyes and gold like her hair, and it was _her_. Though he was fine, due to the help of the blonde teen's mysterious power, the amber-eyed man stayed down, not wanting to draw attention to himself before the time was right.

Defoe smirked at the trio caught in the mud, and walked over to the side where Loki was fighting of the mud-hands. "You girl, you're Loki Lambert, aren't you? How could you not be- you look just like your poor demented father! Now, I believe you have a journal for me?" The girl hissed at him, her eyes burning with hatred and anger.

"The only thing I have for you is disgust!" She growled at him. He stepped closer, and reached out a hand to trail a finger down her face. She tried to pull away, but the mud held her firm. Will yelled for Defoe to let the teen go, but the man just chuckled darkly. As the finger reached her chin, she jerked her head back, then forward, snapping her teeth at him- the only thing she could do to get him off, the rest of her body immobilized by the clay.

Defoe drew back, snarling, before bursting into laughter. "What a feisty one! Now, come along, dearest Loki. Give me the book, or your beloved friends get a one way ticket to the afterlife!" His voice was sickeningly sweet, like treacle as it chokes its way down your throat.

Eyes wide with horror, the teen reached down through the mud to reach the book, and pulled it out to show the Organization agents gathered around. "What are you doing?" Shouted Will, having not heard Defoe's threats.

Defoe smiled as the book hung from Loki's hand, a vicious grin of victory, before cooing, "There's a good girl." Loki flashed a grin of her own, before letting the book fall open. Defoe's smile vanished. "What's this?"

Loki snarled at the greasy man again. "Your guys did this! Because of you, my father's journal is ruined!" Will and Zhalia would have drawn back, if the mud had let them, such was the venom and loathing in the usually easy-going blonde's voice.

Defoe sighed, a drawn-out huff of disappointment, and straightened up. "Well, there's no use bothering with such things. The secrets of the Amulet of Will are so close. Kreutalk, get the key." The ray-like titan nodded, before flying over to the locked door Zhalia had been trying to pick earlier. With a spit, the lock melted, and the titan was in. He flew over to the central table of the study beyond, and used his tail to pick up the key that lay there, before flying back to his master. "Now, what to do with Mr Vale?" The lanky man pondered out loud.

Loki struggled even more against the mud, crying "Don't you dare touch him!" Defoe, the key now clutched in his hand, bent down so that his face was level with the teen's.

"I've had enough of your insolence, child. Your master should have taught you better manners, when you're in front of your elder and betters." The girl stopped fighting the clay, her eyes growing hard as sapphires.

"I am not a dog. Unlike you, I have no master! Go back and grovel to your master, Defoe, like the good little doggie you are!" A hand snaked out, grabbing the blonde's neck, and pulling her head backwards, cutting of her rant.

"Get your hands of her!" Yelled Will, all but forgotten by the suits that had gathered to see the book. Defoe laughed, before letting go of the neck in his hands, and striking the girl instead. She didn't make a sound, just kept glaring at him with cold eyes.

"As I said. Insolence." The man got up and turned and began to walk away. "But, I have what I came for. Let's go, Grier." The minion nodded, and began to follow his leader. Zhalia shook her head, glad that they were finally going. Defoe noticed. "Don't rejoice, woman. I've sent for a clean-up crew. I'll let them blow themselves up disposing of you all." He walked around a corner, vanishing. Unseen by them all, Cherit followed in the shadows.

* * *

><p>The group continued to fight the mud-hands, breaking and snapping them, unable to use powers or amulets. A trio of suits watched, and behind them, Dante still lay motionless. Suddenly, Loki felt something pull her gaze towards him, to see the russet-haired man open his eyes, and roll onto his side, suppressing a groan. He clambered slowly to his feet, his body crying out in agony, knowing that if it weren't for the strange force that the blonde teen had sent his way, he wouldn't have been able to move, let alone get up. He held his side, standing awkwardly, before muttering "Everfight." A bright orange flame glowed around him for a moment, smoothing the man's pained expression.<p>

Loki saw the entire thing, confused. "Everfight?" It wasn't a power she had heard of yet, like the Honourguard Will had used that morning. It seemed to be a healing spell.

Dante moved silently towards the suits, quiet as a shadow. He reached out a hand, hesitated, and then grabbed one hand from two of the suits, throwing them backwards. One flew straight back, and the other hit the final suit, knocking them both back into the wall.

"Nice," Called Zhalia, from her uncomfortable position. "Now, if you'd kindly get us out of here." Will and Loki added their agreements. Dante smiled, and headed over to oblige.

* * *

><p>Out in the dark night, Cherit was still following Defoe, holding on for dear life to the roof of the man's sedan. Inside the car, Defoe was on the phone with a deep voiced man.<p>

"Remember the importance of the ancient Amulet of Will to the Organization's future." The voice on the phone rumbled, command lacing through every word. This man was not to be trifled with.

"Of course, sir, certainly. Jodis Lore's notes will be invaluable to that end, along with the titans he's hidden away."

The voice soon answered. "Now let nothing, and no one stand in your way!"

"As you wish sir." Defoe ended the call, before turning to Grier, who was driving. "The Professor keeps us on a tight leash, don't you think?" The blonde kept his eyes on the road.

"I have nothing but respect for the chain of command." He replied, voice strict. Defoe snorted, and turned away.

"Never mind. Just get moving." Grier nodded.

"Yes sir."

* * *

><p>Back in Jodis Lore's tomb, Will and Zhalia were searching through the Wise Man's study, whilst Dante took Loki aside, under the pretence of checking the bruise on the girl's cheek.<p>

"Loki," The man paused, unsure of how to go on. He wasn't sure the teen even knew she was using powers to help her friends. Dante had already linked the magic to the intact page in the journal, and to the thin shield that had protected Will at the library. He wouldn't have noticed the filmy layer of blue-grey mist that had surrounded the boy if he hadn't passed by him to take the hit. "Loki, when you pointed at me in there, did you do anything?"

The girl's clear blue eyes clouded with bewilderment. "What do you mean? I can't perform powers yet." Dante sighed. It was as he'd feared.

"When you pointed at me, what were you thinking?" The blonde blushed.

"That you had to be safe. I needed to protect you." She turned her head away, embarrassed. Gently, the golden-eyed man lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes.

"In the library, did you do the same for Will?" She nodded, blushing crimson. "And did you feel that same need when the book fell in the canal?" Another nod. "Loki," He sighed again.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" The azure-eyed girl was scared now, scared of herself, and of her mentor's questions.

"No, not at all. Loki, you were using powers. It's not one I've seen before, but it was defiantly something. It seems that your love for your friends, and the need you feel to keep us safe, just…poured out of you in the shape of whatever power this was." He smiled encouragingly. "You've had powers all along. Whenever you've wanted to help someone, but been held back, you've used this power to do it for you." The girl stepped back, mouth open in shock.

"What? How can that even be possible?" Dante shook his head.

"I haven't got a clue, apart from the fact that you are a very powerful Seeker, Loki. You just need to learn to channel it into normal powers." He pulled the shaken teen into a fatherly hug. "You healed me in there. I wouldn't have gotten up again without your help." Loki buried her head in his shoulder, and began to cry.

"I'm a freak." She whispered.

The russet-haired man hugged her tighter. "Don't you _ever_ think like that! You are _not_ a freak." They pulled apart, and the younger Seeker gazed up at her mentor with trusting blue eyes.

"You sure?"

"Certain." They began to walk towards the others. "I also noticed that you've become confidant at invoking Freelancer in battle." The blonde nodded.

"Sure. He's my only titan, after all."

"Not quite. Don't forget your father's amulet." Loki reached under her shirt, and pulled it out.

"You mean there's a titan I can invoke in here too?" Dante smiled at the teen's surprise.

"All amulets have titans. That's what make them titans." The blonde made a small 'ooooh' noise.

"My father's titan." She whispered to herself, holding the pendant tightly in her hand. Her hand glowed an icy blue, and her vision went white for a moment, before images flickered past, just as they had done when she had bonded with Freelancer.

_Her father's journal, when she had found it, the amulet lying beside it among the shattered pieces of clay._

_Her legs glowing green as she flew across the streets of Venice._

_The titan during invokement _

_Flying through the air, a winged titan carrying her along._

_Her father in an ancient chamber, holding the amulet on the chain that was around her neck._

_Herself, putting the amulet around her neck, four days ago in her room at the Foster Home._

_The titan's invokement again._

_Being ten years old again, standing at her father's side, her head barely reaching the table, as he made her another puzzle._

_Hovering, the creature keeping her aloft._

_Her father again, telling her not to finish the puzzle to fast, because he could only make them so fast._

_Her again, jumping from San Marco's Basilica, four days ago. _

_The titan appearing on her back, lending her his wings._

"Kipperin." She whispered, then louder. "His name is Kipperin, isn't it?" Dante turned, a smile playing on his lips.

"He's a flying titan. That's why you reacted to him the way you did." Loki nodded.

"Of course, it makes sense now. Thanks Dante."

The russet-haired man put a hand on her shoulder. "He's not as easy to invoke as Freelancer. Don't over do it." He moved off, passing by a dusty table. He paused, and moved back, tracing the key-shape in the dust with a finger.

"Zhalia, I'm going to need your help. Will, Loki, go find Cherit. It's not over yet."

* * *

><p>AN: Does anyone else notice that all Grier says is "Yes Sir?" That guy is military to the core!<p> 


	10. Chapter 9 Words of Truth Part 3

AN: Sorry about the late update- internet again! Plus, I have a concert on Sunday, and stage fright to boot. Wish me luck, and I may update faster!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 9- Words of Truth, Heart of Lies Part 3

Outside in the dark night, Defoe and Grier had finally arrived at their destination. The Road of Alchemists. "Legend has it, this is where the magician Lore put down his Golem for good." The man gave a chilling laugh, full of dark intentions.

Grier just kept staring straight ahead, towards their destination. As they neared the building, the blonde minion barked an order to the suits lingering outside. "Men, report!" Seeing that their leaders had arrived, they scrambled to stand in a line, and saluted. A dark-skinned lady stepped forwards, and told them of their progress.

"Sirs! We've secured the building, but we can't force the door into the Golem's Attic, not even with titans." Defoe gave a sharp nod, and grunted.

"As to be expected from a room holding great treasures, but this key should change that." He produced the ironwork from his pocket, and placed it in the mouth-shaped keyhole. The line between the double doors flared with green energy, then swung open without a sound.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Loki, Cherit and Will were up on the flat roof, the younger teen was sat with her knees tucked under her chin, the other human pacing around like a restless tiger, and the titan sitting on the tiles on the wall. "I hope Zhalia's Imprint key worked okay." Muttered the blonde, her head tilted to one side. The brunette stopped pacing long enough to answer, and then carried on walking back and forth.<p>

"Well, I'm sure Dante's Trojan Horse Golem took them by surprise." The blue-eyed girl turned her eyes to the night sky, tracing out familiar constellations, and smiling at the way that the stars always stayed the same.

"I wonder why Dante told us to stay up here." She burst out, suddenly, raking a hand through her golden locks. Cherit placed a hand on her shoulder

"I'm sure he has some plan in his head." The little creature said, shrugging his wings.

Will's emerald eyes were blazing with frustration, and Loki stared to wonder if this helplessness that they both felt, trapped up here, would set of the mysterious power she seemed to wield. The Casterwill began to rant about the unfairness of it all, ending with: "I want to know why he took that creepy girl with him. I'm a much better," _'and much more trustworthy'_ thought the boy, "Seeker than she is!"

The teens remained silent for a while, both gazing at the skyline. Seeing the recognizable sight of their hotel, Loki popped a question that had been bugging her for a while. "Will…" The jade-eyed boy turned to look at her. He was both wary and excited to see the familiar glint in the blue eyes of his companion that meant she was solving a puzzle. "If Dante didn't want us to crash the party, wouldn't he of sent us home by now?" Will, slowly, began to smile, before reaching out a hand to pull the flaxen-haired girl to her feet. She responded to his grin with a reckless one of her own, and said four little words, that would certainly make Dante mad. "I say we go!"

* * *

><p>Inside, Defoe and his team were moving slowly towards a massive clay figure in that filled the room, their expressions ones of awe and wonder. "I've seen titans sealed in ancient artefacts before, but never one this big!" The greasy man cried, walking up to the hand of the massive statute. Grier, following close behind his leader, looked up and down at the hulking sculpture.<p>

"So this is it? Metagolem?"

Defoe nodded, reaching out a hand to touch the clay. "Yes, it must be. I'll bond with it right here!" As his hand touched the statue, it blazed blue fire, and disappeared, revealing Dante and Zhalia lying in wait. It was a trap!

"Touchram!" The russet-haired Foundation operative yelled, sending all the suits, and Defoe and Grier, flying back into the walls. "I don't know what grudge you have against me, Defoe," He warned. "But it's about to get a lot worse!" The blue-haired woman by his side slid into a fighting stance.

"Dante! Don't give them time to recover!" The man nodded, and pulled the grey, three-pronged amulet from his neck.

"I invoke Caliban!" He called, glowing blue with the summoning of his favourite partner. The Aztec-styled warrior sprang into being beside his Seeker. Zhalia was quick to follow.

"Gareon! Kilthane!" She cried, holding an amulet in each hand. The lizard titan appeared from the green amulet in her right hand, and a knight-like titan from her left. The knight wore black armour, with three curving blades protruding from each shoulder, a hooked sword, and an orange shield bearing the symbol of a dragon's head. The two teams leapt into battle against one another, dealing blows and taking them in equal measure.

"Attack!" Yelled Dante, as he and Zhalia ran towards their enemies, titans close behind. Kreutalk spat a spray of acid at the blue-haired Seeker, and she flipped out the way, shooting a Raypulse in the Defoe's direction, but he blocked it with a Honourguard. The suits shot Raypulses of their own at Kilthane, and Caliban ran to attack Breaker, whilst their Seekers also clashed.

Grier swung a bone-breaking punch at Dante, but he dodged, before lashing out a leg to kick his opponent. It was eerie how similar their fighting styles were to their titans. The blonde stepped back, however, and made a grab for the foot at his chest, but the russet-haired man withdrew, jumping back to crouch in a fighting stance a few steps away. "You've got a lot of discipline," The gold-eyed man commented, his voice mocking, just as it always was when he talked to Organization folk. "Why fight for Defoe?"

"It's my job!" The other man snarled, lumbering forwards to whip a leg towards Dante's head. The man ducked, and swept a leg along the floor to knock Grier over. The man tottered on one foot, before falling, and rolling. Dante's smile grew wider, and vicious, like a wolf on the hunt.

"How about some on the job training?"

* * *

><p>Loki and Will, with Cherit perched on the girl's shoulder, raced down the stairs, down flights of blue marble, till they reached the final stair. "Loki, down there!" The brunette cried, hearing the sounds of a fight coming from behind some double doors- that were guarded by a pair of suits. The blonde pulled a grey amulet from her belt-pouch, and called to the titan inside.<p>

"Come to me, Freelancer." She smiled as she ran, a grim smile of battle brought on by the fierce surge of happiness that came across the Bond from her armoured companion. "All you need is a fight to make you happy, hey?" She whispered to him. The titan turned his head to see his Seeker, and gave a quick nod, the fires that were his eyes getting brighter by the minute.

In the meantime, the suits had called their own titans. "Redcap!" One yelled, followed swiftly by, "Mindrone!" The two red-eyed creatures appeared, crawling on the walls and floors. Will held a hand aloft, the light that came from within making it seem like he cupped lightning in his palm.

"Not so fast! Sabriel!" He invoked, bringing forth a pink-haired woman from the pendant. She immediately pitted herself against the Redcap, leaving Loki and Freelancer to deal with the other titan.

"A Mindrone, we can handle this! Go Freelancer, destroy him!" The titan rushed forwards, lance lowered, eyes eager. He raced past the suits, headed straight for the Mindrone behind them. The single-eyed being began to back up, trying to avoid his opponent, but ended up in a corner. Its red eye widened in horror as Freelancer impaled him on his lance. "Alright!" The blonde Seeker cheered, unaware that the suits her titan had bowled over were now getting back up.

"Augerfrost!" They roared together, combining their attacks into one powerful beam. The blue light ploughed into its unsuspecting victim, sending her flying into the wall behind her. Freelancer disappeared as his Seeker was rendered unconscious.

"Loki!" Will screamed, eyes round with worry, seeing her go soaring past. His eyes flicked from her still body, to the suits and back again, before making a plan. "I have to lead them away from her!" He and his titan leapt over the suits heads, and allowed themselves to be backed into the massive hall where Dante and the others were fighting.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the battle went on inside the chamber. Defoe and Zhalia fought with a blend of powers and titan attacks. Defoe sent a Poisonfang attack, a stronger version of his Poisonheat, towards the female Seeker. She dodged, and Gareon jumped from her shoulder to a column nearby, using his special ability to become invisible.<p>

Caliban continued his duel with Breaker, each matching the other, with speed and size balancing out their fight. Kreutalk slipped behind the Aztec warrior, and spat his acid at the unsuspecting titan. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, and in that instant was grabbed by the bear titan he had been fighting. Grier's titan used his four arms to literally rip the white-haired humanoid apart, sending him back to Dante in a stream of blue light. The gold-eyed man winced as Caliban returned to his amulet.

"Things are getting sticky." He muttered. Will nodded, and the team regrouped in a semi-circle around the end of the hall, with Kilthane and Sabriel being the only Huntik titans left.

"Loki's hurt too- but she's out there! I can't get to her!" He yelped, tears stinging at his eyes. Dante, who hadn't noticed the teen enter the fight until he stood beside him, had assumed that the blonde was with the emerald-eyed boy. Now, he looked towards the slightly open door at the wrong side of the hall, just making out the shadow of the fallen girl. His parental instincts began to kick in, along with his fighter and Seeker ones, and he knew that an unconscious Loki wouldn't last long on that side of their protective circle.

"Was this part of your plan, Dante?" Zhalia mocked, hiding her fear behind a spiteful bravado.

Defoe sneered at the Huntik team. "Now," He called to his minions. "Press the advantage."

* * *

><p>Light, blinding and painful, filled the vision of the blue-eyed girl, as she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Cherit, hovering anxiously over her, eyes wide with fear and horror. "Loki? Lass? Are you still with us?" He croaked; worry making his hoarse voice worse than usual, his old accent showing through. She raised a shaking hand to her head, rolling onto her side; feeling like her brain was on fire. She whimpered, fear flooding her gaze as she saw the state of her hand- it was covered in blue-grey mist. So this was the mysterious power Dante had seen her brandish in times of need. But how has she meant to use it? All this power wanted to do was leap from her palm, wind along the corridor, and help her friends, and at the moment, she needed it to help <em>her<em>.

"The fight?" She gasped to her titan friend, needing to know how it was going. All she could see and hear was the lights of Seeker powers and the yells of both her allies and her enemies.

Cherit grimaced; knowing he would be unable to keep the news the battle wasn't going well from his determined companion. "I'm afraid Dante and the others are having a bit of trouble." He finally admitted. A gasp came from the azure-orbed teen, and she tried to stand, only to fall panting back to her knees.

"I have to help!" She hissed through gritted teeth, pain making her frown. The white titan flew over to her side, lacing a hand on her forehead.

"Be still! You've most likely got a concussion!" He cried, trying to force the girl back down, but she shrugged him off, and crawled to the door.

"There's got to be something I can-" She broke off, a memory surfacing of Dante, after his knock down in the tomb of Jodis Lore, using that flame-like power to heal himself. _'Everfight!'_ The memory-Dante whispered, and it echoed through her mind.

"That's it!" She muttered. "Everfight!" In an instant, she was wreathed with flames, their licking tongues soothing and curing. It lifted her to her feet, making her hover in the air, before setting her back down. She sighed, her headache gone, and the bone-deep exhaustion that had been tailing her since Venice had disappeared too.

Cherit was shocked, not only at the girl having such a spell in her repertoire, but being able to pull it off, knowing it was a difficult skill to master. "Wow." He murmured, in awe of his young friend.

Loki's eyes blazed with the strange mist power that was unique to her, and she clasped one glowing hand around the amulet at her neck. "I need you now! Come forth, Kipperin!" The amulet burned green, fire bursting from the pendant with a sound like the beat of a butterfly's wing, and a high-pitched squelching sound, like an insect. The titan was green, with four bat-like wings, and small, round head, with a shock of white hair, and four long tentacles for arms, each coming from the base of a wing. The creature flapped in circles around its new Seeker, questioning and staring with its large, black eyes. The girl before it seemed familiar, and he liked that. He had liked his old master, and this new one would do just fine. Kipperin let his Seeker know that he was happy to take her anywhere she needed. The girl smiled, and her eyes lit up. "Hello, wing-brother. It's time to get moving."

* * *

><p>Back in the hall, Breaker, since he was finished with Caliban, had moved on to Kilthane, destroying him in moments, sending him back to Zhalia. The woman stepped back with a barely suppressed gasp at her titan's return. Sabriel stepped forwards, waving her sword threateningly in a fencer's pose. "It looks like my Sabriel is our last heavy hitter!" Will yelled, both warning Dante and gloating to the coffee-eyed Seeker beside him. Zhalia sneered, and looked away.<p>

"She looks a little light to me."

Defoe laughed, his voice dark and cold. "Victory is in my-" He was cut off by a worn trainer to his head, and he hit the ground, unconscious. If he had looked up, he would have seen Loki soaring above his head, with Kipperin lending her his wings. At first, the green titan had been disappointed by how short his flight distance was, but when his Seeker had explained it was over a battle, and there would be _dive-bombing_, well, how could he resist? Kipperin _loved_ dive-bombing people!

"Loki!" Will shouted, raising a hand to salute to girl, relief on his face. He had been so worried about her; he couldn't put it into words. However, that relief waned a little when he saw what his friend was doing.

The girl winked at him, and then taunted the suits below. "You're going to have to be a lot quicker than that!" She scorned, folding her arms across her chest in a gesture of contempt. Will recognised it from the little tiffs and squabbles they had had over the past four days- the blonde was desperately trying not to laugh. She had Kipperin take them down to dive-bomb the suits again. The green titan was giggling over the Bond, telling the child how much he was enjoying himself, and his laugh was infectious. If titans only bonded with Seekers who matched their personalities, then Kipperin was definitely Loki's mischievous side. The suits shot Augerfrosts at the duo, but the winged creature twirled and twisted through the air, dodging easily. "Too slow! Missed me, losers!" Yes indeed, Kipperin and Loki were undeniably the same.

Dante shook his head- how could that girl be having fun at a time like this? - And called: "Perfect timing Loki!" before tipping his head to one side. Solwing flew down from where he had been hiding near the hall's ceiling. Talons extended; the bird titan flew to engage Breaker, who roared with fury, unable to hit the fast-moving bird.

Zhalia gestured to the column behind Grier, and shouted to her titan there. Gareon shrugged of his invisibility, and blasted the blonde minion with beams from his eyes. The man fell down.

Loki weaved past two more Augerfrost attacks, then dove towards her attackers, knocking them over with Kipperin's wings, which were hard as steel. "Strike!" The girl crowed, laughing as she flew back up to the ceiling.

Dante, now that the suits were distracted, dashed to the far end of the hall, and held his hand out to the pile of notes and pots that lay there. "I know you're there." He whispered to the titan that was hiding there, and a purple light flowed from the biggest urn, and into the russet-haired man's hand, where is solidified into a rocky amulet. The newest owner of Metagolem smiled, and clenched his hand around the titan's amulet.

Behind him, Breaker swatted Solwing to one side, and turned, snarling, looking for his next opponent. He focused his gaze on Will, who froze when he saw the massive, hulking, bear titan running straight for him. Zhalia rolled her eyes, and stepped in front of him, sending a Boltflare at the beast, blinding him. Grier growled.

"Breaker, they're right in front of you!" Suddenly, everyone turned to see Dante raise both his hands above his head, clasping the Metagolem amulet within.

The gold-eyed man yelled hoarsely, obviously under great strain. "Do your worst! Metagolem!" A ripple ran through the earth from where he stood, and a huge man-shaped figure clambered out of the ground. He was made of rock, with gold wristbands, crown, and armour, and a long light blue cloak that ended in ragged tatters. The titan raised his hands above his head in a mirror of Dante's position, and then brought them down on Breaker, crushing him. Grier winced as his titan was returned in a river of light. Defoe was crawling to his hands and knees, glasses askew, and hair mussed. A bruise covered the left side of his face, and looked just like the one on the flying girl's cheek. She had a sense of irony, it would seem.

"Metagolem! They've bonded!" The messy-haired man on the floor cried in disgust, his chances at success dwindling before his eyes. Loki gave a few victorious loop-de-loops.

"Dante!" She called down to him. "That thing's huge!" Dante nodded, then held the glowing rocky amulet before him.

"Everyone, regroup!" Will and Zhalia ran to stand next to him, Sabriel flanking him on the other side, and Loki landed between the titan and her mentor, Kipperin's wings folding neatly against her spine. Solwing fluttered to perch on his master's shoulder. "On my mark, concentrate all your attacks on Defoe!" Gold, tan, jade and azure eyes locked onto their target, and the man skittered backwards.

"Retreat!" Defoe called to his men. "Everyone, retreat!" Grier opened his mouth, about to argue, but was stopped by his leader. "Don't question me! They have Metagolem, and the advantage!" Grier bowed his head.

"Men, fall back!" Loki and Dante shared a relived look, not sure if they could have kept to their bluff.

* * *

><p>Back in Venice, in Dante's house, the group (Zhalia included) were discussing Loki, much to the girl's embarrassment. "It was a sight to see, that's for sure." Cherit crowed, sitting on the coffee table.<p>

Will nodded, nudging the subject of their conversation in the ribs. "Yeah! Loki using her first power, and spontaneously too!" Gold and blue eyes met, knowing it wasn't the blue-eyed girl's first power, not at all. "That's rare!" The boy continued, and the blonde rolled her eyes. Yep, that was how Dante had described it too. _Rare_. "Most powers are learnt through study, and careful teachings. That's why I'm good at them!" Loki shoved her friend lightly.

"Snob!" The Casterwill pouted melodramatically, then laughed.

"I thought we had a deal about you calling me that!" The young girl blushed, and grinned sheepishly.

"Ooops." She reached forwards to sift through the papers in the box on the table again, the new, unbreakable code annoying her puzzler's side. "I'm just glad we found these in the Golem's Attic. They're definitely Jodis Lore's, that much I can make out, but I can't break the code." The teen made admitting that sound like losing a dear friend, and the team laughed at her mournful expression.

"Don't worry," Dante chuckled. "The Foundation will be able to decipher them." Loki's eyes shined with hope.

"Then we'll find out why my dad was interested in that place, or maybe even where he went next!" As student and mentor began a heated discussion on possible locations, Will slipped out from his place next to Loki, and padded over to Zhalia.

"You really saved me back there." He mumbled, his pride rebelling against the apology. "Maybe I was wrong not to trust you." The blue-haired woman snorted, and turned her head away,

"If I was an evil Seeker, setting that up would have been an easy way to gain your trust."

Both humans nodded to each other, mutual distrust back in place.

* * *

><p>Loki leaned back against the couch, closing her eyes with a sigh. Dante took this opportunity to get a good look at the fading bruise of her cheek, and the black worry bags under her eyes. "You had me worried there, Loki. You worried all of us. Don't let yourself get hurt again- I don't think my nerves could handle it!" The two shared a laugh, and lapsed into silence again.<p>

"Have you thought about your power much?" He asked suddenly. The girl nodded.

"I still can't control it. It's elemental, instinctive. I can't force it to appear, and I couldn't direct it when it did appear, back in Prague. I'm scared of this thing, of myself. What happens if this power suddenly decides one day that the only way to save one of you guys is to hurt another friend, or me?" The auburn reached out, and rested a hand on hers.

"We'll find a way to control it. In the meantime, don't be scared. This power is a part of you, just as much as you are a part of it." The blonde laughed at how philosophical he sounded.

"You don't look so carefree yourself." She muttered.

"There's one thing still on my mind- those rumours about The Professor."

* * *

><p>Deep in the undergrounds of Prague, past twisting tunnels, and sewage pipes, lay the central base of The Organization. Behind one, round, thick metal door, like the kinds that lock bank doors, sat The Professor. He was in an armchair behind a semi-circular desk. His room was lavishly decorated with artefacts, ancient tomes, and maps of the world.<p>

He was a fat, old man, and a scar across his right eye, making it white and useless. His head seemed too small for his body and his hands too big for it. He radiated power, command, and darkness. Defoe and Grier were knelt before him, head bowed in servitude.

"You disappoint me, Defoe." The leader of the Organization rumbled, voice laced with menace. The greasy haired man on the floor was quick to apologise, but was cut off by the man behind the desk.

"Your failure cost us vital information on the ancient Amulet of Will. Without it, the Organization will never achieve total domination."

Defoe kept his eyes on the floor, and made to intercede, on behalf of his skin. "Professor, I will redouble my efforts."

The Professor leant forwards, and somehow made an overweight pensioner the most terrifying thing in the world. "I…must…HAVE IT!"

* * *

><p>AN: RUN AWAY! HE'S A CREEP FAT MAN! Hold it, that ain't scary! How does that man pull it off?<p> 


	11. Chapter 10 Into the River of Secrets

AN: Here's the next episode,people!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 10- Into the River of Secrets Part 1

A young man stood on a bridge in Rouen, France, binoculars pressed close to his glasses. He was thin, your classic nerdy figure, with tussled, mousy-brown hair, and kind, grey eyes. He was watching the boats darting here and there across the river Seine with avid interest. Suddenly, a huge whirlpool that stretched the width of the river opened gaping wide in front of the bridge. A speedboat was being steadily pulled towards it, the passengers screaming.

"It's happening again!" The watcher cried, running to the centre of the structure to see better. As he looked down, a pair of red eyes glowed in the darkness of the whirlpool. "A titan! I better do something!" He grabbed the rope at his feet, and raced as fast as he could to the opposite side of the bridge, where he tied his lifeline down. He ran back to where the speedboat's passengers, a couple, were screaming, throwing the rope down to them.

"Here, grab on!" Once the man had taken hold, with his woman around his waist, the young man began to haul them up, helped by people nearby. "Hang on! You can make it!"

All of a sudden, the speedboat exploded, the fuel tank having been chewed up by the churning water. The couple jumped, and in doing so let go off the rope, and began to fall. The young watcher grabbed the man's arm, and heaved him and his girlfriend over the top of the bridge.

The French couple looked down at where their boat had been, eyes wide and trembling with fear. "What was that?" The man yelled, clambering to his feet, an arm around the lady at his side. The watcher floundered for an answer.

"Urm, major climate change. I gotta go, bye!" And off he walked, leaving the confused group behind. He plucked a phone out of his pocket, and dialled in a number. "Priority notification for Guggenheim. I think I've found a titan in the Seine River!" The watcher stopped the call abruptly, and tucked it back in his pocket. In front of him was a group of French Police, and at their head, a sinister man with long, greasy, brown hair and gold glasses.

"Hello," said the leader. "Peter, isn't it?" The young man stepped back, eyes as wide as a frightened foal's.

"How do you know my name?" That much was obvious- they had been waiting for him.

"I'm the special investigator in charge of this case, and you're coming with me." Peter gasped, and took an involuntary step back.

Oh no…

* * *

><p>In Dante's Venice house, the team were relaxing. Well, the team apart from Loki. She was going stir crazy, and missed the hectic lifestyle of the foster kids. Correction, she missed the foster kids, but she knew that she would be endangering them if she ever went to visit.<p>

All her stuff had been sneaked out by Santiago, and arranged in a spare room in Dante's house- her room now. Though she was glad to have her stuff back, she missed her little room at the top of the house, and falling asleep to the sounds of 15 children snoring. At the home, she was never alone, always being followed by one kid or another, but here, Dante could be gone for hours at a time, talking on the phone and calling contacts, and Will lived ten minutes away, even though he spent the day at Dante's. The tight leash of being on the Organization's wanted list was chafing to say the least, and she could feel Kipperin straining to fly away through the Bond, and it buzzed under her skin, a constant itch she couldn't scratch. It left her prowling around like restless tiger, snapping at anyone who came close.

"We're stuck here till the Foundation finishes decoding Lore's notes." She grumbled to herself, finishing her fifth puzzle that day- and it wasn't even midday yet.

"Patience Loki." Dante told her good-naturedly. "You know it could take several months." The girl sighed, and looked away.

"Don't remind me!" She huffed, looking longingly out the window. Will looked up from where he was lounging with a book, and caught the glance. He smiled sympathetically. He knew how hard it was for his friend to be cooped up. She was like a bird with her quick, clever eyes, and a need to move, to go here, to be there, to be doing _something_.

"Hey, Dante." He called to his auburn mentor. "Why don't you school Loki on how to use a holotome?" The blonde immediately perked up at the opportunity of something to do.

"Cool!" She scampered over to the golden-eyed man at the table, her bad mood instantly forgotten. Dante sighed, knowing he didn't have a choice now, not with the azure-eyed girl looking at him like that. He lifted the lid of his holotome, and began to teach his student on how to use it.

"A holotome is a three-dimensional mapping device. Ask it to specify an area." The teen nodded, and the brunette wandered over, interested despite himself.

"Okay! Holotome, map this room!" A light-image of the sitting room appeared in front of the group. Will smiled at the excited look on Loki's face.

"Its scanning range is limited, but it can store maps and show them on command." The girl nodded, attention trapped by this new plaything. The boy shook his head in disbelief. She was so predictable.

Dante smiled too; glad to have gotten rid of the fair-haired teen's foul mood. She was nasty when she was grumpy. "Right. Now, show the entire building." Emerald and amber eyes shared a smirk- Loki was enraptured by the holotome, and it would keep her preoccupied for a few hours at least. Then again, they had said the same thing about that pile of puzzles….

"Hey, look!" The blonde cried, eyes lit up. "It's picking up Zhalia!" The blue-haired woman laughed as she padded into the room.

"Look out Sherlock, there's a new girl in town!" She mocked, as harsh and mean as ever. Loki pouted, and looked away.

"And the great Zhalia Moon decides to put in an appearance." Will snapped, not liking her tone. "You ever going to just leave for good?" He got back to the lesson.

"With the holotome, the Seekers can scan any titan. It makes it a useful tool on missions." Loki looked at the machine curiously. It was a lot more complicated than she'd originally thought.

"May I?" Dante nodded, and so the girl pulled Freelancer out of her pocket. As she did so, she got a strong feeling of Déjà vu, realizing this was one of the Bonding visions. The holotome stuttered a bit, and then reeled of a list of statistics and abilities.

Zhalia's snarky voice drifted from behind them. "The graphics are lame."

That seemed to annoy the holotome, if it were possible, for it immediately said, "Upgrade required."

Loki laughed, then lifted the machine up to peer at its mechanisms. "How does this work, anyway?" A puzzle-solving glint came to her cobalt eyes, for the first time since Prague. The puzzles Will had brought weren't a challenge for her agile mind, and so this was the best thing she had seen in ages. Dante snatched it away from her, causing the teen to groan disappointedly.

"I need this, Loki. I can't have you messing with and, inevitably, breaking it." The group laughed, whilst the blonde sulked.

"That young lady sounds just like you when you were young, Dante. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Came a polite, commanding voice, as if from nowhere. The sapphire-orbed Seeker leapt to her feet, looking around with wide eyes, before noticing blonde-haired, blue-eyed man on the TV screen. Blushing, but still looking distrustful, she sat back down next to her mentor.

"Looks like there's a few new faces with you! Care to introduce us?" It seemed the screen was acting like a huge video-call. When she wasn't glaring suspiciously at the massive face, she was glaring at Dante for not telling her he had a videophone. She'd always wanted to see how they worked…Ah, that was probably why. He thought she would break it!

"Guggenheim!" Dante greeted the man fondly, then put his arms around Will and Loki. "This is William Casterwill, and Loki Lambert. Guys, this is Guggenheim, a member of the Huntik Foundation." The blonde stopped looking at the man warily. If he was with the Foundation, she knew he could be trusted.

"Casterwill, you say? Pleasure to meet your acquaintance. And a Lambert? Why, of course, you look just like Eathon! Wonderful to meet you both, just wonderful! And why, there's Zhalia! I haven't seen you since our last mission- you look well!" The blue-haired woman nodded, a smile on her face. Loki did everything she could not to stare. Zhalia, smiling? That was a first.

Guggenheim continued. "Now, Dante, I need to ask you a favour." The russet-haired Seeker tilted his head to one side, considering.

"Well, I'm investigating a case or two, but if you have an interesting mission, I might be able to fit it in." The Huntik man smiled, and, alongside him, images of a young man on a bridge, throwing ropes and calling encouragement to people in boats appeared. The boats were getting sucked into whirlpools every time.

"There's been an unusual rash of whirlpools in the River Seine. I send you the details in a file." Dante was looking interested.

"Whirlpools?" He asked, brow furrowed in thought. "Do they happen to be near Rouen?" Will looked excited, as understanding cleared his puzzled face.

"Of course! The legend of the Gargoyle!" The blue-eyed man on the screen seemed shocked, then pleasantly surprised.

"You are a Casterwill, indeed." The image on the screen changed to that of a gargoyle, then back to the young man on the bridge. "Folklore attributes these stone creatures with the power over water. These myths inspired the use of gargoyles as spouts and fountains."

"And the legend comes from Rouen, France!" Will finished, looking satisfied. Loki was smiling. Finally, a puzzle to solve!

Dante dipped his head to his older student. "We know that the legend is really about a titan, Gar-Ghoul. Its awakening powers are churning up the river. Has anyone been hurt?" The gold-eyed man asked suddenly. Thankfully, Guggenheim shook his head.

"Two were nearly killed." The blonde at the table drew in a sharp gasp, eyes wide. Dante closed his eyes, and leant back against the sofa.

"How can I help?" The Huntik operative on the TV grew excited, and explained.

"We stand on a new age of Seekers. More discover their powers each day." He nodded to the blonde and brunette in front of him, both of who blushed.

Dante opened his amber eyes, and they were sparking. "And though the Gar-Ghoul has lain dormant since ancient times, you believe that this new age is bringing it back to life." He said it as a statement, having obviously been close to this man for a long time.

"Exactly." Guggenheim crowed. "Here's the plan. You will go to Rouen and meet with a Foundation operative. His name is Peter. He's the one that brought this anomaly to our attention, and he will serve as your guide. You must attempt to recover Gar-Ghoul before it falls into the hands of The Organization. You should be receiving the details on your holotome now. Mission: Legend of the Gargoyle." Dante picked the card from the holotome, and tucked it into one of the many pockets in his trench coat.

"I'll be on the next flight to France." He promised his fellow operative. The blonde smiled, before signing off.

"Good luck, my friend." The screen went dark.

Zhalia gave a long-suffering sigh, and then called over from her position by the kitchen door. "You get all the good missions, Dante. How about sharing the wealth? I happen to know my way around Rouen."

The russet-haired Seeker shrugged. "You want in, fine." Will shot a venomous glare at the coffee-eyed woman, before turning to his mentor.

"Hello, excuse me? But what about us?" Loki said nothing, as her puppy-dog eyes said it for her. No way was she missing out on a chance to leave the house! Dante hung his head, and knew he was defeated.

"Alright." He said, and waited for the victory cheers to die down. "But you two have got to listen to me this time! No running off, no following us if I say stay, and no dashing into battles unprepared and getting hurt!" The last bit was directed at the blonde teen, who blushed and looked away. He stood up, and offered his teen friends a hand up. "Now go, get packed!" He ushered them away with a hand in the small of their backs. Cherit flew past them as they ran out, a confused expression on his face.

"What's going on? I haven't seen Loki that excited since Prague." Gold eyes rolled, and their owner explained what was going on.

* * *

><p>AN: I love writing Loki. She's such a tricksterpuppy thing! Review if you agree, and if you don't!


	12. Chapter 11 Into the River Part 2

AN: Sorry about the wait, people! I'd say it was worth it, but that's for you to decide!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 11- Into the River of Secrets Part 2

Loki smiled as she felt the sun of her face, the breeze in her hair, and the freedom all these things brought. "Now this is what I'd call a summer holiday!" She sighed happily, and slung her rucksack a little higher on her shoulder. "A trip to France!" She looked around, still surprised at how similar it was to Ireland. "I thought it would be more like Venice, and Prague. Y'know, foreign." Will rolled his eyes. That girl was so happy-go-lucky.

"This isn't a holiday, Loki." He told her, lugging his suitcase after himself. It was considerably bigger than the blonde's carry-on, but not as big as Zhalia's. Dante wasn't carrying a bag. He never seemed to, and yet he always had what he needed. Strange. "This is a serious mission." The brunette continued, as they entered their hotel.

"Will's right." Dante chipped in, walking up to the front desk. Loki pouted, mouthing 'Spoilsports' to Zhalia. Surprisingly, she laughed, causing the azure-eyed teen to giggle too.

"I'll have you know, I am fluent in French. This'll give me a chance to try it in real conversation!" The russet-haired man at the head of the group stopped, looked over his shoulder at his teenage friend, before shrugging, and walking on.

"How can you be fluent, and never have spoken it to someone French, or been to France?" Zhalia asked, her blue hair hanging over her eyes. She looked genuinely confused.

"My dad taught me! He used to travel to so many places, and he'd always teach me to speak the language. He'd insist on using only the native tongue on the phone. It was just a big game to me, a puzzle to solve, so I learnt everything I could." The girl paused, finally realizing something, now she knew all the facts. "Looking back, he was probably trying to blend in with the other people he was with, so The Organization wouldn't find him. If you speak English in a crowd of people speaking French, you're going to stand out." Her eyes dimmed, shadowed with an unimaginable grief, and the chocolate-eyed Seeker beside her surprised herself by reaching out a hand to place, comfortingly, on the child's shoulder. She withdrew it quickly, but not before Loki had blushed.

'_Damm this girl! She's just too sweet, and innocent! She's like a god-damm puppy!' _The blue-haired woman thought to herself, hard outer-shell reappearing. She gave the blushing teen a business like nod, and marched forwards to stand next to Dante. The blonde shared a look with Will, and then followed. Their golden-eyed mentor was standing at the front desk, reading a scrap of paper with some tribal scribbles on it. His face was grave.

Catching Loki's inquisitive glance, he began to explain. "This is one of the Foundation's most basic codes." When the girl immediately asked to see it, he passed it over, wanting to see how quickly her agile mind could sort it. "It's about the guide," the Seeker continued, talking to the blonde in particular. "He's being held by the police." Almost instantly, the blue-eyed teen read out the rest of the message.

"He's in the sixth precinct in the Old city!" Will gaped.

"I don't believe it! You deciphered the code that fast? Impossible." Dante shrugged, having expected something similar.

"I already translated the first line." He explained, amber eyes dancing with mirth.

"And the rest of the message is coded the same way!" The blonde finished, she glanced at the code again, her blue eyes sad, and sighed. "It was a bit easy to be honest. A decent code is so hard to come by…" Will just stared, his emerald eyes wide with amazement.

"So," He said at last. "How are we going to break out the guide?" Zhalia stepped forwards, her mocha eyes serious, and placed a hand on Dante's arm.

"I think this would be easier if I handled this alone." The Casterwill, of course, was first to object.

"Hold on! We can't-" With a hand, his auburn friend cut him off.

"If you insist. Call if there's trouble." Dante told the blue-haired operative, letting her walk away. The woman smirked, and raised a hand in farewell.

"Not likely." She disappeared out the front door, blending in with the mass of people.

Will glared suspiciously at the retreating figure, then turned to race after his remaining teammates. "Dante, how much do we really know about Zhalia?" Dante shot his student a sharp glance.

"Her background with the Foundation checks out, if that's what you mean." Loki nodded, smiling.

"She doesn't do the friendly thing, but I like her." The brunette shook his head. Why couldn't they see what he saw?

"I still don't trust her…." He muttered to himself. The russet-haired man heard however, and turned to face him.

"Will, do you know something we don't? Trust has to be earned. We're going to give her a chance to do just that."

* * *

><p>About ten minutes later, Zhalia was walking into the Sixth Precinct Station. She was unrecognisable, with her blue hair tucked away under a ginger wig, wearing a suit, glasses and her usual high-heeled boots, and carrying a briefcase. She looked exactly like she belonged there. Her outfit was spoiled, slightly, by the fact that her eyebrows were still blue. The woman allowed herself to be shown along a series of corridors, memorizing the route, and into a room. A sergeant sat behind a desk, and a young man with tousled mousy-brown hair and glasses was sat on a chair by the wall. <em>'That must be the guide, Peter'<em> Thought the now auburn-haired lady. She marched in; head held high, and Gareon's amulet worn like a necklace around her neck.

"Hello, my name is Careen La Rosh, and I'm an attorney. You are holding my client without charging him, and I demand his release." Her voice, with a perfect French accent, held no room for arguments, and she was glaring fiercely at the white-haired man behind the desk.

The sergeant shrugged. "Look, we are under orders to keep him here." Seeing a clue, Zhalia leapt on it.

"Ordered by whom?" The man began to look uncomfortable.

"Well, there's this special investigator…"

"Name? Badge number?" The once blue-haired operative demanded. She started fiddling with Gareon's amulet, its light shimmering and distracting the man.

"Well, we were told…you see…."He stuttered.

Zhalia would have smiled, if it wouldn't blow her cover. He was making this too easy! "I advise you release my client immediately. Don't have such a Simplemind." She slipped the power into her words, disguising them as everyday chat. For the briefest moment, both her eyes and the eyes of the policeman glowed red.

"Yes, I guess I see your point." The man intoned, getting up and padding over to where Peter was sitting. He helped the young man to his feet, and walked him to the door of the cell, Zhalia following. As they escaped, the woman couldn't help but gloat. She winked at the police officer at the door, and called over her shoulder: "Ciao."

The officer gaped, before turning to his superior. "Urm, sir, I know you are in charge and all, but it is strange that you just let them go." He pointed down the hallway at the way the 'attorney' and her client had disappeared. The sergeant turned away, walking back to his desk.

"Well, she was right." The officer gawped. This was so strange!

"This isn't like you, sir." The policeman told the other. "Did you get any paperwork from her?"

The white-haired man sat down at his desk. "No, I guess not." The officer gawked.

* * *

><p>At that precise moment, Zhalia and Peter were leaving the station, the brown-haired man looking nervously around.<p>

* * *

><p>The officer marched out the cell, grabbing his walkie-talkie. "All units! We have an escaped prisoner fleeing the station!"<p>

* * *

><p>Two officers just walking away from the station glanced over their shoulders, and saw the obvious escapees. "Hey, you two! Hold on a second!" Zhalia turned slightly, to see who was talking.<p>

"Okay," She murmured, still in her French accent. "Run!" Her normal accent returned, as her disguise was no longer needed. The policemen gave chase as they rushed around the corner. The Foundation agents ran into an alleyway, but tall plank of wood blocked the end.

"Climb over!" Zhalia ordered the frightened guide. The boy complied, but got stuck clambering over. With a sigh, his companion gave his feet a push, sending him over to sprawl on the other side. She herself jumped over with ease, landing with the grace of a cat.

Seeing Peter still huddled there, she grabbed his collar, hauling him up. "What is wrong with you? Get a move on!" She hissed, pushing him forwards. _This guy is so pathetic!_ She thought to herself. The pair ran down the alley, Peter in the lead, but Zhalia pulled him back when he made to go into the open, having spotted the two policemen on the street ahead.

"Oh, never mind." She muttered tiredly, fingering the amulet at her throat. "Gareon!" The mousy-haired boy stared, eyes wide in terror, as a small, green, lizard-like titan appeared in a burst of light. It crawled up the wall opposite the humans, keeping its bright yellow eyes fixed on its mistress. Peter gasped with fear. Although he was a member of the Huntik Foundation, he had never seen a titan, and certainly not one as menacing as this!

Zhalia snarled, and pounced on the young man, clamping a hand over his lips. "Shut your mouth!" She growled, but it was too late.

"I hear them, this way!" The two policemen had found the trail again, and were running down the alleyway.

The mocha-eyed Seeker rolled her eyes, and muttered, "Great, now you've done it!" Her tone was scathing, full of contempt for the scared boy by her side. He hadn't moved since she had silenced him, but his eyes rolled around, whites showing, and looking more like a scared horse's than ever. The older human turned to her titan. "Gareon, be gentle." The creature nodded, and leapt to the other side of the alley, making the bins it was hiding behind bang and move.

The policemen closed in on Gareon's hiding place, looking around cautiously. One step closer, then another, and finally…Gareon lowered his invisibility slightly, becoming a waver in the air, and shot a set of vibrant green beams from his eyes to his unsuspecting victims. The officers fell to the ground, choking and coughing, whilst their prey ran away, and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Peter and a now undisguised Zhalia met the group on the riverbanks next to the bridge where the guide had first seen the mysterious titan. A russet-haired man looked up from where he was talking to two teens, and called to his teammate. "Nice work, Zhalia. You did it." The woman nodded.<p>

"Of course. " A grin flickered across the man's face before he turned to the mousy boy, his amber eyes serious.

"I'm afraid we're running out of time. We're counting on you to tell us what happened." Peter looked from the man, to the woman who had rescued him, and back again.

"_Her disguise really works." _He thought, scared of this strange woman, with all her different faces. He wondered which one was her true face- and if it was the face of someone he could trust. "I…I need a minute." The group watched as he walked away and sat on a nearby rock, one pair of eyes more worried than the others.

Peter watched them from the corner of his eye as he rested his head in his hands. One of the teens- a blonde girl- stepped past the blue-haired woman, hands on hips. He could hear her distinct voice- English spoken with a slight Irish brogue, as if worn away by years away from home.

"Dante." She was saying. "You scared him!" The boy was shocked. If that girl had said Dante, and he was sure she had, then that meant the auburn was Dante Vale, the Foundation's number one Seeker! And she was telling him off! His eyes, hidden by his hands, were wide with surprise. "Let me talk to him." A brunette boy beside her finished, his green eyes warm. Vale nodded, and the boy walked over. As the girl turned away from the her team mates, making for a backpack on the ground nearby, Peter saw the mask she was wearing fall away, revealing the toiling grief in her young eyes. He wondered what had happened in her short life to make her so sad. As she neared the bag, the mask slotted back into place, and she smiled.

"Hey," The boy sat next to him, plonking down on the ground beside Peter's rock. "I'm Will, by the way. William Casterwill." The lad jerked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the girl. "That's Loki Lambert. She's worried about you, so I decided to come over. Is anything the matter? " The paler brunette shook his head mutely, fiddling with a stick on the ground.

"I'm Peter." He said at last, voice soft. "I work for the Foundation. Sure, I've heard of titans, but to actually see one…" He trailed off, playing with a stick on the ground, writing in ancient scribbles. He noticed the blonde watching them, and jumped when she laughed and ran over.

"I haven't seen this script in ages!" She exclaimed, smiling. "But its meant to be like this." She told him, changing on of the symbols slightly, her eyes bright with a look Peter recognised from pictures of him and his friends at dig-sites. She waved, and then walked back to her bag, talking to the white titan perched on top of it. The boys stared after her, both thinking _"Wow."_

Will was the first to recover. "Yep, that's Loki alright. She's a puzzler, and a mystery to us all." He shook his head, and turned back to the guide. "I know what you mean about the titans, and so does she. I was raised since birth to be a Seeker, but Loki only found out last week. She's been through a lot, but she's pulled through." The boy's emerald eyes shone with admiration for his friend. "You will too. We know what we're doing."

Peter span his head around to glare at the boy behind him. "Well, Miss Attitude spooks me!" He hissed, eyes wide.

The Casterwill nodded. "I know. I don't trust her either. Don't worry; I'm here to help you, and I'll keep you safe." He sighed. "Look, Peter, we need you to take us to the cave of the Gargoyle." The pair continued talking, with Dante and Zhalia watching.

"See?" The golden-eyed man asked his teammate, eyebrow raised.

"What?" The blue-haired woman snapped, glaring.

"A little compassion goes a long way."

* * *

><p>Loki stood up, her azure eyes sharp, and her gaze suspicious. Cherit poked his head out of his bag, confused. "What's up?" His friend lifted her head to the wind, and looked around, like a dog casting for a scent.<p>

"Something feels…wrong. Like something's going to happen, something bad. I felt like this in the hotel, back in Prague, right before the Redcaps attacked."

The white titan looked at the blonde with curiosity. She had sensed the titans before they had attacked? Was that even possible? Looking closer, the titan noticed that the girl was indeed paler than usual, just as she had been back at the hotel. Could there be a link?

The teen looked out across the water, eyes searching for any threats. Seeing none, she tried to force herself to relax, but failed. Pain settled in her stomach, making her lean against a tree and drape an arm around her middle. Though it hurt, it sharpened her senses, making her look around more, recognising the feeling even more now that she was hurting.

Will and Peter wrapped up their conversation. The emerald-eyed boy turned to look at Dante, his face pinched and worried. "Guys, I think we're running out of time."

A dark voice came from the tree line. "You are so right." A gang of suits walked out from behind the trees, sneers twisting their faces. The Huntik group gathered in a circle, back to back with one another.

"Don't use your titans!" Dante ordered his team, eyes fixed on his opponents. "Too many people are nearby. Loki, protect Peter." The blonde nodded, and moved closer to the grey-eyed boy.

"Stay close." She whispered. Peter was scared by the change that had come over her. Her eyes were burning with a fierce light, and her skin seemed paler, almost luminescent. Noticing his fear, the girl explained. "My titans are Kipperin and Freelancer. At the moment, Freelancer is helping me focus, and Kipperin is begging me to let him help. That's why I look different- the glowing is the link I have with my titans strengthening in preparation for a summoning. It'll go down in a minute or two." She touched the amulet at her throat, the green one, and Peter began to understand the deep and complex bond between titan and Seeker- he had dismissed the idea of titans only choosing Seekers whose personalities they matched, but Loki seemed to be proving him wrong. He had heard of both the girl's titans, and they definitely showed two of the different sides to her.

The leader of the suits grinned, and showed them his clenched fist. "We're here to take you to Defoe." He pointed at Dante, and his blonde student. "The rest are ours to do with as we wish, so if you hand them over, we promise no one will get hurt."

The sapphire-orbed teen gave a feral growl, pulling back her lips to snarl at the suit. "I will never go willingly to that…that…_creep_." She hissed to Peter, her eyes blazing. "I'd sooner die!"

Dante heard her, but was going to answer negative anyway. "But getting hurt is what you do best!" He told the suits, eyebrows raised. They smiled.

"Have it your way." He signalled to his men, and the battle began.

"Augerfrost!" The Organization agents yelled, sending streams of blue light towards Dante and his team. The two older Seekers dodged, then raced to meet their enemies. One longhaired suit made for Loki, whilst the others split themselves between Dante, Zhalia and Will.

Loki's suit gave a grim smile, and cracked his knuckles. "You ain't gotta chance, kid." The blonde's eyes widened, and she felt a glimmer of fear, but Freelancer immediately calmed her, letting her know he would lend her his strength. Kippering agreed, saying he would lend his speed against the bad men.

Cherit took one look at the suit, and disappeared into his bag, which was nestled between the azure-eyed teen's shoulder blades. "You're on your own, my girl." He told her. Peter stepped back, not wanting to get in the way, as the blonde slid into a fighting stance.

On the other side of the clearing, Dante and Zhalia were dealing with their suits. The russet-haired man sent a Raypulse to knock down one, then used Hyperstride to flip over and kick the remaining two in the jaw, sending them out for the count.

The blue-haired woman leapt into the air, landing with two feet on a suit's back, sending him flying, before using him as a springboard to leap backwards into a fighting stance. The suit she had kicked bowled over her other two opponents, but he stayed conscious. The Huntik female bounded over to him, grabbed his wrist, and span him towards her, as if they were dancing. She placed a delicate hand on his chest and whispered "Raypulse!" The man went soaring through the air, hitting a tree, and went down.

Meanwhile, Loki was moving away from her suit, keeping Peter behind her with one arm, and the other held into front to ward her opponent off. Her quick eyes flickered back and forth, making a plan. She smiled as she was pressed back towards a tree. Perfect.

"When I say, turn and run behind the trees, okay?" Though he didn't understand, the young man behind her agreed. "On the count of three. One…. Two…. GO!" She turned and sprinted towards the tree, the suit following, Peter dashing for cover. As she neared the trunk of the tree in front of her, the blonde prayed her gymnastic lessons wouldn't fail her. The suit almost stopped when he saw that his target was running straight for a tree, and wasn't slowing, but kept up his pace, determined not to lose her, the one they had come for.

The girl kept running, right till she reached the roots of the tree. Then, she placed one foot on the trunk, then the other, and used the momentum from her run to flip over the suit's head, and kick his face into the tree. She was glad he was knocked out, because she landed awkwardly, and wasn't sure if she could have gotten up in time.

Peter, in the meantime, had gotten knocked to the floor by one of the suits Will had thrown using his judo moves. Panting, the jade-eyed boy rushed over, and hauled him to his feet. "Are you okay?" The mousy-haired boy nodded, lips pressed tight together in a thin, white line.

Date walked up to Loki, and placed a hand on her trembling back. She was holding Kipperin's amulet tightly in her hand, and her head was tilted to one side, as if listening to something. "Congratulations." The golden-eyed man told his pupil, his eyes shining with pride. "You just defeated your first Organization suit one-on-one." The blonde pushed some honey-coloured tendrils out of her face, and smiled up at him. "And with style too." The auburn continued, smiling back.

"I guess so." Blue eyes brightened at the thought. "I didn't think I could pull it off, but Kipperin said I had wings in my heart. He was surprised I didn't fly. He says I'm certainly light enough, and that I need to find my wings. He thinks I've lost them somewhere." The pair laughed at the titan's comments, both knowing that humans didn't have wings.

"Dante?" It was Will, supporting Peter with on arm. "Peter's hurt." The fair-haired teen rushed over, eyes wide with pleading.

"Oh my god, Peter, I am sooo sorry!" She told him, reaching his side, and helping Will to support him. "I was meant to be looking after you! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" The threesome made their way to Peter's rock, and sat the boy down. Kneeling before him, the blonde rolled up his left trouser leg, to see how bad it was. After living in the foster home for three years, she knew her fair share about healing.

Sharp eyes assessing the damage, she sighed happily. "Just a sprain. You should be back to normal in no time!" She declared. As she was rolling the boy's trousers back down, her hand brushed the slightly swollen ankle, and for a moment, flared bluey-grey. Peter had been watching the whole time, and stiffened as his ankle immediately started to heal. He could see Loki stiffen too, and give her hands a quick glance. As he stood, he also saw the look Dante shared with the girl, and the way she kept looking at her hands, then his ankle. She seemed…_scared_. Something was going on here, something weird…

Zhalia marched over, hands on hips. "We need to keep moving." She barked, eyes flashing furiously. She shot a venomous glare at the blonde teen, annoyed that she had in avertedly caused the delay. The girl shot a confused look right back.

Will put a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Peter, I need you to tell Dante what you told me." The group gathered round the rock, settling themselves down to hear the story.

The scared young man nodded, and began to tell them his tale. "The special investigator on the case forced me to tell him about the cave of the Gargoyle. His name was…Defoe." Loki hissed.

"That cheating scumbag!" Dante put a hand on her arm, and turned away.

"Then we're already too late." The grey-eyed boy took of his glasses, and started to clean them using the edge of his T-shirt.

"I wouldn't be so sure." He said with a mischievous smile. "I only gave him a general idea. Chances are, we can beat him there." The cerulean-eyed teen leapt up from her seat to hug him.

"Oh, you clever, clever thing!" She beamed, eyes lighting up. "How did you think of that?" At this comment, Will smiled.

"Now you know how the rest of us feel when you solve a pile of puzzles in a day, Loki!" The girl blushed, and agreed with her friend. Their mahogany-haired teacher shook his messy hair, and turned back to their guide.

"What's the fastest way to get there?"

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later saw the Huntik team aboard a speedboat, with Dante in the driving seat, Cherit at the stern getting the wind in his wings, and the rest of the team in the passenger area at the back. Will was talking to Peter, seriousness radiating from his very soul.<p>

"Now you've seen it, the evil that we're working against." The mousy-haired boy rubbed his head, looking a little lost. Loki walked with confidence across the boat to sit by his side.

"Believe me, I know exactly what you feel like. Just a week ago, I was a normal kid, and now, well, I'm not." Will laughed.

"As if you were ever normal, Loki. Besides, you were in the company of legends." This time it was the blonde's turn to laugh.

"Legend? In your own mind, maybe!" Suddenly, she tilted her head to the side, listening to something only she could hear, and one of her hands crept up to hold the green amulet about her neck. She grinned, and it was the wild smile of freedom. "I'll be right back- I want to go ask Dante something." She set off to the co-driver's seat next to Dante's.

"So, Peter, how'd you get with the Huntik Foundation, anyway?" The Casterwill asked as he watched his teen friend pad slowly up the boat.

"Studying archaeology." The boy replied, cleaning his glasses of spray. "When the Foundation approached me, I realized that their ideals were exactly what I was looking for. To protect history and not exploit it, to learn without limits, to explore ancient secrets, and preserve forgotten traditions." Zhalia shrugged.

"After what you barely survived, I would have thought you'd respect adversary, and the ability to bring it." They all looked to the head of the boat as the azure-eyed teen reached Dante. They wanted to know what she had wanted to ask. Luckily, the wind was whipping the words back towards them, and they could hear everything.

"Hey, Dante." That was Loki. "Kipperin says this is brilliant flying weather. Can we go for a fly, please?" The team laughed. Only Loki would ask something like that at a time like this. The next part was expected, and so was the part after that.

"No. We're on a time limit here."

"Please? I'll stay near the boat, promise!" Though he was at the wrong end of the boat, Will could clearly imagine the puppy-dog face Loki would be pulling, and the way Dante would be trying not to look at it, because he knew he would crumble when he did.

"No." The pair would have happily argued a while longer, but what happened next chased all thoughts of arguing from their minds.

"We're coming up on the area of the cave now." And then, before the boat, three gaping whirlpools appeared, cavernous maws wide and hungry. The group gasped in horror, feeling a sinking feeling in each of their chests.

"Hold on!" Dante roared, pushing the boat into top gear. As they neared the whirlpools, massive cyclones rose from the water, forming swirling walls of water around the speedboat.

When they took one particularly sharp turn, Loki went flying, having only been crouched by Dante's seat. She screamed as she went soaring overboard. Cherit cried out to Will, who began looking for rope, and then flew out after the teen.

"Kipperin, lend me your wings!" The girl shouted, struggling to keep afloat in the turbulent waters. The green amulet around her neck glowed brightly, and the winged titan appeared. He scooped his Seeker out of the water, using his tentacles to make a harness around her thin body. He deposited her back on the boat, where she lay, soaking wet and gasping for breath. The titan ran its tentacles down her body, checking her over, and when satisfied, returned to his amulet. The blonde smiled weakly at Peter, who was staring in amazement.

"Peter, meet Kipperin. Best titan a girl could have." The teen's belt pouch glowed blue as Freelancer complained. "Joking, Freelancer!" She muttered. The glow died down. "That's better."

The boat swerved towards the rocks, and for a moment the gang thought Dante was just avoiding the cyclones, but when the boat kept going, they started to panic.

"Whirlpool's coming back, we have to get out of the water now!" He yelled, hair whipping in the wind.

"Dante, what are you doing?" Will cried, emerald eyes gleaming with tears, caused by the wind hitting his eyes.

"Jump when I tell you, and not a moment sooner!" The man replied, not offering any explanation. The two teens helped the newest member of the team to his feet, and stood poised and ready. The boat got nearer, and nearer. Peter started to panic, and could feel his legs twitching, wanting to make a run for it.

"Now!" The gold-eyed man bellowed, and jumped from the boat. The group following. The Casterwill, holding onto the mousy-haired guide, landed feet first. Zhalia made a stylish crouch, and Loki, who had landed a bit further out, did a graceful dive, barely causing a ripple, before swimming to shore. Dante landed on the rock they had used to launch into the air.

"Everyone okay?" He called, anxious eyes scanning for injuries and limps. Everyone was fine, except for Peter, who fell over a bit because of his previous injury.

"How did you even see this place?" Will asked, clambering out the water, dripping water from his hair. He shook his head, sending water flying everywhere. Loki was the wettest of all, after her dip in the river, with her clothes clinging to her, and her hair plastered to her skull. Peter was fine, because he was wearing an anorak-like waistcoat, but his glasses were smeared. He sat down to clean them. Zhalia moved off, something in the distance having caught her eye.

"It's the origin of the water spouts." Dante gave Loki his coat to stop her shivers. The russet-haired man was fine, having not touched the water at all.

"Boltflare." The blonde whispered, cupping the power in her hand to warm herself. Will saw her, and rolled his eyes.

"Why didn't I think of that?" He muttered sarcastically, as he and Dante copied Loki's idea, and warmed themselves. Will shared his 'fire' with Peter.

"Because you're not me, and therefore not as clever, brilliant or pretty?" The group laughed, before getting back to the water at hand. "So, the Gargoyle's cave is nearby?"

Peter nodded, pointing to the rocks all around them. "I think Dante's right." The auburn made an _'obviousl_y' noise. "These stones have been worn by high pressure water!" Zhalia appeared on a cliff a few meters away.

"And here's a cave." The team smiled, sensing the end of their journey.

* * *

><p>AN: You liked it? You did? Then you'll review? Oh, gosh, thank you! That's so unexpected!<p>

In hope to have this kind of conversation with ALL OF YOU! So, review!


	13. Chapter 12 Into the River Part 3

AN: Sorry about the wait, readers. The internet crashed at my house. Again. And again. I really need to get it fixed somehow...

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 12- Into the River of Secrets Part 3

The team made their way to where Zhalia was standing; Loki clambering up nimbly as a goat, Will helping Peter, and Dante bringing up the rear. When they reached the top, the group stared in amazement at their goal- a small, ivy covered cave, rugged and in places worn smooth by water. The mousy-haired guide pulled off his glasses, and cleaned them on his shirt.

"This grove..." He muttered wonderingly. "I could have searched forever by land and never found it!" The golden-eyed leader nodded, face serious.

"Let's go." The Seeker started forwards, the group following. The blonde teen was trailing behind, thinking, her azure eyes gleaming with the beginnings of an idea.

"Dante?" She called, catching the attention of her auburn mentor. "Once we get inside, can't we use the holotome to map the cave?" Dante grinned, and went to reach into one of his many pockets, hand stopping as he realized he wasn't wearing his coat.

"You're right. I'll leave that to you, seeing as you have my holotome." Suddenly, an explosion rocked the ground, causing the already unstable Peter to fall over. The russet-haired Dante whipped his head around to look for the cause, eyes flickering from one place to the next. "Come on, we'd better hurry."

* * *

><p>The cave was dark, and a water was a constant presence- it dripped from the ceilings, could be heard flowing along a stream nearby, and was up to the team's ankles, soaking the already wet humans. Cherit flew around, his eyes accustomed to the dark places of the world, where secrets hid and titans slept.<p>

The tunnels seemed to go on forever, until they finally reached a large cavern. Dante lifted a hand, glowing with power, and called forth a Boltflare to light the way. Peter gaped at the massive cave, and Will and Loki followed suit. Zhalia just stood there, unimpressed. It was just a cave, after all.

"This is the largest cavern I've ever seen!" The guide cried wonderingly, gazing up at the huge Gargoyle statue that dominated the centre of the grotto. They moved forwards, the azure-orbed girl helping Peter so that her brunette friend could stand at the front.

A loud, ominous rumbling came from somewhere, echoing around till it was impossible to tell where it was coming from. The Huntik group froze, a primal instinct telling each and every one of them that it meant no good. As if to prove them right, the rumbling intensified, and a jet of water spewed from the gargoyle's mouth. The team dived for cover, Loki, Peter, Zhalia and Dante going one-way, and Will going the other. The head turned to follow the Casterwill, and shot another stream of water at him.

"Honourguard!" The boy yelled, forming a pink and yellow barrier before himself just in time, the water hitting moments later, forcing him back.

"Be careful!" Dante warned his team, watching the gargoyle with wary eyes. "Moving that fast, even water can hit like a bullet."

A chilling, familiar voice drifted down from the Gargoyle's head. "I'm always a step ahead, Dante Vale." It was Defoe, sneering down at the Foundation operatives, eyes cold behind his glasses.

Gold eyes were rolled as their owner sighed, patience worn thin on a particular subject. "Why is it always Dante Vale? Why not just Dante? After all, we've been fighting each other for long enough for us to be on familiar terms now, Defoe."

The man laughed, but the sound was bitter and twisted, holding no warmth or happiness. "Friends are cumbersome things. I have no need for them. Getting past the dreaded Gargoyle was not an easy task. Let's see if you can do it, and beat my men too."

The group subconsciously formed a circle, keeping cautious eyes on their enemies. "Is it that you don't need friends, or can't get any, you miserable creep?" Loki snarled, her eyes blazing with fury. Defoe growled, before turning away and waving a dismissive hand to his minions below.

"Destroy them- but leave the girl alive. It would seem The Professor has a use for her." The Huntik members shared an anxious glance. Why did the Organization want Loki so badly?

The Gargoyle rumbled again, sending water to crush them. The group jumped out of the way, still in a circle. "Team, time to get our titans into gear!" The russet-haired leader called, glowing first blue, then green in quick succession. "Caliban! Solwing!" The Aztec and the bird appeared by their master, eyes sharp and ready for battle.

"Freelancer!" Loki summoned, quick to follow. She glowed blue, holding her only fighting titan's amulet above her head. The armoured titan emerged in a flash of light, took stock of the odds against them, and smiled. _This is going to be fun!_ He told his Seeker, fire-eyes growing bright with excitement. The blonde smiled, the Bond flooding her with his lust for battle.

"Sabriel!" Will cried, calling forth his pink-haired titan to fight beside him. She appeared instantly, sword raised and balanced on her feet, fire-eyes darting around behind her visor.

"Gareon! Kilthane!" Zhalia beckoned, the lizard and the knight materializing next to her, weapons ready for action.

Grier, left behind by Defoe to control the suits, allowed himself a small smile. This was going to be too easy. "Engage the enemy!" He commanded, rushing forwards along side his men. The battle began, powers streaking across the cavernous space, warming the air and parting the water. Soon, all the water around the fight had disappeared, evaporated by the fierce heat.

Most of the Huntik titans converged on Breaker, trying to bring down the immense titan with teamwork and well-placed blows. Zhalia and Will conjured Honourguards to protect the team, leaving Loki and Dante to use combat spells. The blonde teen had automatically reassumed her position as Peter's protector.

Caliban was thrown across the room by his massive, bear-shaped rival, but got up immediately to join a nearby conflict. Sabriel was holding her own against two Redcaps and a Strix, but was defeated by a blast from the Gargoyle. She streamed back to her Seeker in a river of pink light, leaving Will alone against his two Redcap opponents.

"Freelancer, protect them!" The sapphire eyed teen called to her titan, pointing to Will, her heart beating much too fast at the thought of him being hurt. She stayed to the edge of the fight, keeping the suits away from Peter. Some of her enemies gave her spiteful looks, knowing that their orders were to capture her, but thought it best to leave the burning-eyed, glowing girl to more powerful suits- Grier would take care of the little brat, he was the best one there, the suits decided unanimously, and left her alone.

Blue-haired, and furious, Zhalia was also doing well, and had already defeated a great number of suits. She and her titans worked in sync, blasting foes and titans alike with their powerful attacks.

The golden-eyed leader stood back to back with his blonde pupil, their guide hiding behind some large stalagmites, sizing up their chances. "We need to get pass these suits before Defoe gets the titan!" He told her quietly, before pressing forwards. "Touchram!" He yelled, sending a wave a bright green energy in front of him, parting the remaining water like Moses parting the Red sea. "Nimblefire!" He continued, glowing red, and running along the wake of his energy-wave, twice as fast as normal. Loki stared, eyes wide, gazing at the new power and committing it to memory.

Dante reached the end of the wave, still glowing red, and grabbed the lapels of the two suits standing there. He leapt up, slamming them together, as the wake he had created finally sloshed back to flat water.

"Look out!" The flaxen-haired girl below warned him, but up in the air, the mahogany-haired man was powerless to stop the torrent of water smashing into him, driving him underwater. "Dante!" Loki screamed, jumping in and swimming over to where he had been rammed under, glowing a misty blue-grey, the mysterious power streaming through the water to pull the man up to the surface. Dante looked at his body, outlined in shining vapour, and grinned gratefully at his friend, a trace of wonder in his amber eyes.

"We have to take out that Gargoyle, or we're toast!" The blonde told her older companion when they had gotten back to dry land. He nodded, and reached out a hand to hold the green amulet at Loki's throat.

"Use Kipperin, and fly up to see if it has any weak points." The girl nodded, a look of fierce concentration on her face, and invoked the titan within the emerald pendant.

"I need you, now! Come forth, Kipperin!" The strange, butterfly-like titan exploded from his amulet in a flash of light, deciding to appear wrapped around her waist and shoulders, ready to take off.

"_Where to?"_ He asked, head tilted to one side, large black eyes gazing curiously at his Seeker. When the teen told him their destination, he drooped. _"So short!"_ He muttered across the Bond, causing his mistress to laugh. _"Any dive-bombing?"_ He asked hopefully, stretching his wings in preparation for takeoff. The young Seeker shook her head.

"Not this time, Kipperin. We have work to do." The green being nodded, and set off for the Gargoyle's head. The massive creature's eyes glowed gold, before spewing jet after jet at the young Seeker. Kipperin dodged with ease, but each time, the jet got closer. The Huntik team battled their foes easily now that they could concentrate fully on the fight- apart from the ever so slightly worrying fact that Loki was risking her neck against the Gargoyle. Each member of the Foundation kept half an eye on the young teen, all with their hearts in their mouths. Zhalia surprised herself at the feelings that rose for the young girl, and the rest of her impromptu teammates.

* * *

><p>As the battle wore on, Defoe neared the chamber of the Gargoyle. In the moment that the Huntik group was beginning to turn the tide, he reached the hall. "Show me where the power lies!" The greasy man muttered to himself, eyes bright with longing behind his tinted lenses.<p>

A sparkle caught his eye, and the man looked to the neck of one of the many gargoyle statues that ringed the circular chamber. There sat the amulet of Gar-Ghoul, his prize. Defoe strode forwards with eager haste, reaching out a gloved hand to take the amulet as his own.

"Ah! Come to me, Gar-ghoul!" He sighed, a look of pure focus flickering across his face. Glowing purple, he sealed himself to the water-controlling titan.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Loki was flitting around the Gargoyle's head, still not getting close enough to see its weaknesses. "Whoa!" She cried, hair falling into her eyes, and sticking to the water droplets on her cheeks. "I need a new plan, I can't keep this up much longer!" The azure-eyed girl swung around, and flew down to earth, gasping for breath. Kipperin sighed, disappointed that the flight had come to and end, and folded himself against his Seekers spine.<p>

The titans and their masters fought on, some falling, some rising above the adversary, and some standing back to catch their breath before diving back into the battle with renewed vigour. The Huntik Seekers ended up in a circle, each one holding up one side of a Honourguard shield. Quick blue eyes darted from one place to the next, scouring the walls for a solution. Suddenly, there, an answer! The Gargoyle was being fed the water that it used to blast them from a stone pipe set into the roof! If she could get there, the blonde knew that she could close it by shooting a Raypulse at the opening!

"I hope this works…" She muttered, leaping into the air, Kipperin gladly bearing her to save his fellows. Peter, left behind on the ground, stared in amazement at the shear courage and energy the younger human possessed, and marvelled at her power- he knew that keeping a titan invoked, and controlling and using them, for as long as Loki had with Kipperin was immensely tiring, but the teen was pulling it off with ease. _And_, thought the mousy-haired lad, _with style too_.

For a moment it seemed like the plan would work. The human-titan duo sped along, keeping close to the ground, and dodging the water, often sending it raining down upon groups of suits instead of herself. Then, disaster struck, as a jet struck Kipperin's wing, just clipping it, but sending the green being back to his amulet none the less. The blonde shrieked as she fell towards the ground, only gymnastic training keeping her from smashing it to it in a way that would severely hurt her. Even with her efforts, the girl grazed her palms, digging grit deep into the wounds, and scraped all the skin of her left thigh, ripping her skirt. "I need to know more about that titan!" The fair-haired teen mused, looking up at the Gargoyle. "I know!" She cried, reaching into one of the many pockets in Dante's coat. "The holotome!" Pulling out the strange device, the blonde told it to scan the Gargoyle titan.

Grier stormed forwards at the head of his forces. "Face it Dante Vale, you're outnumbered. Our victory is assured. Give up now, and hand over the girl, and I give my word that you shall not be hurt." Dante gave a quiet snarl about the man still using his surname, and reached into the water at his feet, where one of his amulets had fallen.

"There may be more of you, but there is none more mighty than Metagolem!" The Organisation backed away, some even turning to run. Grier tried to stand firm, but in the face of such a massive titan, even he was scared. With a flash of purple light, the stony humanoid appeared. One humongous fist smashed into a pair of suits, sending them flying, and Grier turned to lead the retreat.

As their opponents fled, one team member was still focused on the battle ahead. Loki crouched in the water, head tilted to one side in confusion as the holotome's scan came up blank. Rising to her feet, stumbling a little at the shaking of Metagolem's footsteps as he went to defeat Breaker, the teen gazed back and forth between the 'titan' and the screen. Hearing human footsteps, the girl reached out to grab Will's arm as he dashed past.

"The holotome can identify any titan within range right?" She queried. The brunette nodded.

"Yes, that's what I told you." The azure-orbed human bowed her head, deep in thought, before snapping her head up to glare at the stature that dominated the room, now knowing that it was just that, a statue.

"That is _not_ a titan. It's not registering!" Will frowned, not believing.

"But you don't even know how to use that thing!"

"Trust me!" The girl implored. "It's just a magical trap!" A jet of water shot towards them, the trap having gotten bored with trying to hit the far away suits. Will got up to jump away, but Loki was hampered by the machine in her hands, and the coat wrapped around her legs tripped her. The Casterwill lad turned, emerald eyes worried, before rushing back to his friend's side.

"Breakspell!" He yelled, blue magic streaming from his palms. The water curled back on itself, surging back to the statue, and smashing it to pieces. The blonde teen scampered to the brunette, eyes shining with happiness.

"Will, how'd you do that?" The boy faced her, jade eyes smug and full of pride.

"The Casterwill family spells can take care of magical traps no problem!" He explained, taking one of the girl's delicate hands in his own to lead her back to the group. When she winced, the boy flipped the hand over, and grimaced at the sight of the grit filled cuts. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Peter was lurking out the way of Metagolem, who was chasing the last of the suits away, and felt his eyes brim with tears as he witnessed the closeness between the two teens. It was then he realized that he liked Loki. He admired her courage, envied her strength and determination, and was in awe of her kindness and good grace. She was just like the fair and just princesses of the ancient stories. And Peter it seemed, was the unfortunate scholar who was never mentioned, but you always knew was there, and would never get his chance to express his love. _"Yes,"_ the guide thought with a shock._ "I love her." _Pulling of his glasses to rub away the scalding tears of regret, the mousy-haired boy knew that he could never tell her. He wouldn't come between her and Will. They were meant for each other, even if they couldn't see it yet.

Dante ran over to where the rest of his team had gathered. "Loki, Will, Zhalia- keep Grier occupied." The teens and the coffee-eyed woman nodded, before running after Metagolem. Peter just followed awkwardly. Dante grinned viciously, summoned Caliban to his side from where the Aztec was cleaning his blade, and then used a Hyperstride to leap after Defoe.

* * *

><p>In Gar-Ghoul's chamber, Defoe was just finishing the Bonding sequence with the titan. He stretched as if loosening muscles that had not been used for centuries, and smiled as a door opened behind the statue he had relieved of the amulet. "Ah, an exit. How nice." He paused, tiling his head to consider an idea. "I wonder if those morons have defeated Dante Vale yet?"<p>

"My guess is no." The brunette man span around, eyes fearful behind his golden glasses, the hidden eyes meeting with the amber ones of his enemy. Dante Vale was leaning calmly against a statue, a fierce smirk playing across his lips.

"This time, it is you who is too late! I have already bonded with Gar-Ghoul!" The man spat out, trying to convince not only the russet-haired man before him, but himself. "Its power is mine!"

The man just nodded. "So I see, but before you can claim victory, you have to go through me. And this time," The smile grew wider. "I have you all to myself."

Defoe snarled, trying to mask his fear with anger. "You forget I am not alone! Manifest, Gar-Ghoul!" The greasy man immediately roared with pain, the titan being difficult to control. The titan looked just like a gargoyle- made of stone, with a long snout and wearing manacles around its ankles and wrists. Its wings were immense, and stretched wide, the scent of fear wafting off them as they beat.

"Attack!" The glasses-wearing man commanded. "With all your power!" The gargoyle sat like a dog, tilted back its head, and sucked. Wind whistled though the chamber as the titan drew in its fill of water, and then, blew out. Just like the stature that guarded it, it shot bullet-fast jets of water. Dante used Hyperstride to dodge them all, and before it could refill, charged.

Roaring, the titan met the mortal's challenge by rearing on its back legs. Dante grinned, and ducked under Gar-Ghoul as Caliban, who had been running behind him, swung his sword, immobilizing the creature for the moments that his Seeker needed to defeat Defoe.

"You're no fighter, Defoe. I can take you down long before your new friend can help." The Organization man sighed.

"I get your point." He growled, calling Gar-Ghoul back to its amulet, before turning tail and scuttling off.

"No luck, Defoe!" The golden-eyed Huntik man jeered, running after him. He soon stopped, however, and ran back the way he'd came, knowing that to run down that passage of flowing water was suicide. He only just managed to avoid the torrents at all.

The rest of the team ran in, eyes anxious- even Zhalia's! "What happened?" Will was the first to ask.

"It was just fantastic. He got away," His mentor grumbled sarcastically. "_With_ the amulet." The teen's face dropped.

"It was all for nothing?" Zhalia scoffed, swaggering over, a sneer on her curved lips.

"This isn't some feel-good fairy tale. Sometimes, we lose." Peter looked away, knowing just what she meant. After all, he hadn't even got a chance to try and win his fight. He didn't bother trying to calm the Casterwill down, knowing that Loki was a better person for the job. He looked around, grey eyes searching for the blonde, and spotted her at the far side of the chamber, Cherit perched on her shoulder. The two were talking, and he could just about make out what they were saying.

"This is so cool! It's just what I imagined when I became a Seeker!" The girl was saying, looking around in amazement.

Cherit hmmed his agreement. "All these handsome winged creatures. I must say, it feels like a family reunion!" The blue-eyed teen laughed, and walked along the circle of gargoyle statures. An inquisitive glint came to her eyes, and she gazed at one curious statue in particular. It was holding a dish, and a jug, its face identical to all the other gargoyles.

"Hey, guys?" She called, not turning around. "All the other statues are holding one item in both hands." Musing out loud, she wasn't down heartened by Will's cry that it was over, and to give up.

She shook her head, blonde locks shaking water everywhere. "I bet it's a clue of some kind!" The girl insisted. She puzzled over the statute for a minute, before turning to her auburn mentor. "Gar-Ghoul had water powers, right?" Dante nodded. The blue-eyed girl bowed her head in thanks, eyes far away, humming as she thought.

"Forget it, Loki." Will muttered, bitter about losing Gar-Ghoul. Dante held up a hand when the teen moved to stop the blonde, eyes serious.

"Just watch. Give her a chance. You know how she gets about puzzles." The brunette stopped, an impatient look narrowing his emerald eyes.

"There's a hole here…the jug's hollow…" The puzzle-maniac wondered at the significance of that fact, her cobalt eyes clouding over as she thought. Her gaze fell upon the water bottle hanging from her backpack.

The blue-haired woman strutted over, mocha eyes bored. "It was probably damaged in a fight."

"We need some water!" She cried, happy that she had found an answer. She grabbed the bottle, and up ended its contents into the gargoyle's jug. No sooner had she done so, did the statue began to move forwards, revealing a door behind it.

"A secret passage!" The girl crowed, grinning at her doubtful teammate, who shrugged before grinning back.

"Well done, my girl!" Cherit croaked, flitting about her head. "That was amazing, I must say!" The Irish lass blushed, and rubbed a foot embarrassedly on the floor.

Dante bowed his head, shook it, and then turned to face the young Seeker. "Good job kid. I thought there might be more to this cave than the Gar-Ghoul." Zhalia just snorted, though she was secretly impressed. Peter felt his heart clench, his love for her getting stronger, and he almost sighed with the utter hopelessness of his situation.

"What do you mean?" The Casterwill asked his mentor, unsure as to what he could be talking about. Titans were the most important things to a Seeker, after their strength of will, weren't they?

"Some ancient secrets are more powerful than any titan." Loki blushed deeper as he continued. "And that's I think that's exactly what Loki has discovered." Zhalia padded to the entrance, and peered inside.

"I think she just got lucky." The brown-eyed Seeker sneered. As the group made to follow Zhalia, Will took Loki's hand.

"I'm sorry I doubted you." He murmured, blushing crimson, his pride rebelling at apologising even if he was wrong.

To his surprise, the blonde just laughed. "Enough with the apologies already! Let's go explore!" She scampered forwards, looking more like an eager puppy than ever. "I wonder what's down there?"

Dante called back over his shoulder as he led the group. "You're not the only one. Come on."

* * *

><p>AN: Gods, I am so mean to my characters. I mean, Peter was perfectly normal, then BAM! I go and make him a secret, pining, stupid, lovesick moron! What is wrong with me?<p>

Don't answer that...


	14. Chapter 13 Crawling the Catacombs

AN: As a Mega-arachnophobiac I complete pity what I do to Loki in this next scene...I am so mean to my characters...

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 13- Crawling the Catacombs Part 1

The group walked on down the passage, till natural, rugged rock gave way to carved pieces of stone. The tunnel began to slope downwards, till it finally gave up and became a flight of stairs. At the bottom, the stone floor turned to wood, and there was a door at the other side of the small hollow that the Huntik team found themselves in. Dante lifted a glowing hand to guide the way. "Boltflare!"

Loki looked around, her azure eyes wide, trying to see everything at once. Not looking where she was going, she walked through a cobweb.

"Ewwwww." She hissed, pulling the sticky strands from her blonde locks, looking at the offending wisps with disgust. "I _hate_ spiders." The girl whispered venomously, before trotting after her teammates.

The russet-haired leader was knelt on the floor, with Will and Peter gathered round. Zhalia was behind the blonde teen, keeping a set of cautious coffee eyes on the way they had come. After the life she had led, she knew how important it was to watch your back.

"You said you thought there was more to this place, Dante?" The Casterwill asked, brow furrowed in thought. The room, if it could be called that, looked perfectly normal to him. Maybe Dante's experience allowed him to see something else?

The golden-eyed Seeker straightened up, and half-turned his head to look at his companions. "Quiet. This hallway is some kind of trap." Will nodded, his suspicions confirmed. The girls at the back of the group shared a look. They couldn't see anything wrong- what was going on?

Peter stumbled after Dante, and noticed the hint of writing on the walls, but the Seeker's power didn't quite light it up. "This is ancient French!" He cried, happy to be doing something useful. The young man rummaged around in his belt-pouch, and after a moment, fished out a flashlight. "I can decipher it!" He told the group, clicking it on.

Dante turned around, his warning of "Peter, don't!" Coming a second too late to do any good. The torch's light hit a multi-coloured crystal on the wall above the old inscription, sending beams sparkling around the chamber, hitting other crystals, which hit others in a huge knock-on effect. The room began to rumble.

"Move!" Dante yelled to the trio at the wrong end of the hallway, grabbing Peter's wrist to pull him through the doorway. The wooden floor below the remaining team's feet began to tip from horizontal to vertical, creating a lethal slope into a dark, seemingly bottomless pit.

Blue-haired Zhalia, and ever suspicious Will crossed easily, but Loki had been behind, staring in wonder at the passage behind them, and was hindered by Dante's trench coat. She screamed as the floor became too steep, sending her falling down into the darkness.

"Loki!" Everyone else cried, each then looking in shock at the others, and blushing. A faint cry came from beneath the trapdoor.

"Help me, Kipperin!" A weak flash of iridescent green shone from the hole, and the team could hear the titan's wings buzzing furiously as he flew towards the trapdoor- which was beginning to close!

"Faster Loki, you're not going to make it!" Cherit yelped, his strange and unique accent showing through in his distress. The buzzing grew louder, and louder, till the girl burst from the pit, just as the hatch was closing.

Kipperin set the teen down gently, before disappearing back into his amulet, telling his Seeker to find their wings, as it was getting annoying to ferry around someone who could fly perfectly well on their own. The blonde shook her head at the titan's comment, sending droplets of nervous sweat flying. The green being had been going on about Loki's missing wings since she had met him, and it still made no sense to the young Seeker.

"Thank goodness!" The white titan sighed, flying over to the panting girl. Will rushed over; concern etched on his face, and lifted her to her feet. Zhalia hung around at the back, relieved, but still not comfortable with the whole showing-your-emotions thing Dante walked over, eyes dark with worry, and smile at the young woman.

"Close call, Loki. You must be the luckiest girl on the planet." The auburn shook his head, and turned to the scared guide by his side, who was mumbling nervous apologies, his eyes huge in his head. "Relax. I know you're not a Seeker. You had no idea what you were getting yourself into." Peter nodded once, and retreated to the edge of the group, where Loki went over to comfort him. No body blamed him- he had, as Dante had said, no idea what was going to happen.

Will padded over to his mentor, and scoffed slightly. "I think the same thing could be said for Loki." However quietly the boy might have commented, his teen friend had sharp ears when it came to her name.

"I heard that!" The Irish called, hands on hips in her classic annoyed gesture. "Show some respect! I dealt with it, didn't I? I mean, I'm still alive!" The brunette scoffed again, and turned to the mahogany-haired man with a question in his emerald eyes.

"Why did Peter's light set off the trap when yours didn't, Dante?" The man smiled, a mere flicker of a cheeky grin on his lips.

"Boltflare is a magical light. It passed by because only Seekers are permitted here." The youngest member of the group ran after him, her blue eyes curious.

"Why is that?" She asked, her voice eager. Dante reached for the handle before answering.

"Well, my guess is that this is a secret base for Seekers of centuries past." He opened the door, revealing a medieval styled room, full of twisting columns, statues of Mary, and paintings of battle and of God. One picture in particular caught Will's eye, and he wandered over, his mouth hanging open slightly. His blonde companion giggled at the sight of it.

"Is that…Joan of Arc?" The Casterwill asked to the room. It was Dante who answered from where he was standing by a note filled desk.

"She was probably the last one to use this base." Cobalt orbs started at the older Seekers in amazement.

"Joan of Arc was a Seeker?" Exclaimed the owner of the orbs, wondering just how many famous historical figures were really part of this secret world. Peter took up the tale, wanting to make up for his mistake in the hall.

"If she was a Seeker, with a special titan, it would explain the visions she had that supposedly told her the future." Will carried on as the mousy-haired boy gazed around the domed hall in wonder.

"One of the most powerful women in history. She died just a few miles from here!" He told his ignorant friend, who nodded and looked excited. As he walked away, the jade-eyed teen could hear her mutter "Wow." He grinned, and continued explaining.

"It's widely believed that she was descended from French royalty."

Zhalia snorted from where she was leaning on a column, and sneered. "It must have been her regal blood. Great power comes from a noble family name- even a name like yours!"

Will span around, his eyes burning with an emerald flame. "Don't you dare disrespect my family like that!" He hissed, more heated than any one there had seen him before. Loki made to calm him down, but he held out a hand to stop her. The blonde backed away.

"The Casterwill's have been protecting the Human Race for generations, all the way since Casterwill himself! When you have learnt about duty, nobility, and sacrifice, then you may scorn my name. Till then- keep your screaming howler _closed_." The boy stalked away, leaving a shocked and quiet room behind him.

"What…was…. that?" Loki asked at last, breaking the spell of silence that hovered over the group. Zhalia shrugged, looking unconcerned, but everyone could see the way that Will's speech had ruffled her. It wasn't normal for someone to stand up to Zhalia Moon, and it always rubbed her fur the wrong way when it happened.

Cherit sighed, a long, drawn out noise of sadness. "I've been about since before human history, but humans still remain a mystery." He muttered to the azure-eyed girl beside him, who looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"You say it like I'm not one of the humans." The white titan jumped, and peered closely at the teen.

"Sorry," He croaked. "I was thinking of another time…. Another Casterwill…"

Dante picked up the top-most notes on the desk, shaking his head, and wandered over. "As a Casterwill, I think Will may feel like he has a lot to live up to. His family have always been very powerful Seekers. Teasing him about a sensitive subject does _not_ help, Zhalia." Mocha-coloured eyes rolled, and their owner shrugged. Again.

"Whatever." Knowing that the woman's nonchalant response was the best he was going to get, the amber-eyed man explained what he had in his hands.

"These are Joan's notes." He handed them to Loki, who looked confused, before raising her eyebrows in understanding, and putting them in one of the many pockets in the trench coat she was wearing. "And the key to our next move. Loki, get Will. It's time to move on."

* * *

><p>Deep in the undergrounds of Prague, in the Organization's central headquarters, Defoe was signing into the Professor. The greasy man was looking nervously at the white pit-bull in front of the desk whilst he spoke.<p>

"Sir, I have fabulous news." He began, wanting in on his master's good books. "I…I have secured the titan Gar-Ghoul and its power." The old man behind the desk did not turn around to face his minion.

"Did you encounter anything else?" He asked quietly, menace lacing his voice. Defoe stumbled, his pleased expression disappearing.

"I'm not sure exactly what you mean, sir."

The Professor's voice grew harsh, like that of a heavy smoker's. "I told you to secure the Cave of the Gargoyle and bring back _anything_ that might be of value!" The brunette realized his mistake, and immediately began making excuses.

"Sir, Dante Vale and his team were there, we had to retreat once-" A roar from his master stilled his blabbering tongue.

"Fool! The key to finding the legendary ring of Arc was there, in that cave! But you, you turned tail and fled like a coward, and that information is surely in the hands of the Foundation by now!"

Defoe genuflected on the floor in front of the balding man. "I will set it right! I'll do anything!"

"First find Dante Vale." The leader of the Organization commanded. "He and his team will lead you to the ring. Acquire it and the Lambert child, and rid the Organization of Dante Vale once and for all!"

Defoe stood, head still bowed. "Yes sir! I will not fail this time." The Professor grinned; his wrinkled face lighting up with malicious intent.

"That's good. The consequences would be most…. dire."

* * *

><p>AN: You have to give the guy credit, The Professor is one of the creepiest villains of all anime!<p> 


	15. Chapter 14 Crawling the Catacombs Part 2

AN: Sorry 'bout the wait- I hope this was worth it!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 14- Crawling the Catacombs Part 2

Back in Rouen, in a Huntik run hotel, the team were relaxing whilst Dante went through Joan of Arc's notes. Loki was playing, or rather beating, Cherit at chess, her expression one of serene boredom. It was clear that Cherit wasn't much of an opponent. Will was browsing his way through the bookshelves that lined the room, glaring at Zhalia every five minutes or so. Peter was bringing everyone drinks, still trying to make up for almost getting Loki killed earlier.

"Take that, Cherit!" The blonde teen crowed, chasing the little titan's king around the board. The winged creature huffed, and screwed his tiny face up in disgust. He knew that Loki was toying with him, and could have taken his king and ended the game many moves before.

The russet-haired man at the desk looked up, a piece of ancient paper in his hands, and smirked at the pair sitting at the chessboard before walking over. "Okay team. It looks like Joan of Arc left us a map that will hopefully lead us to an artefact she buried somewhere in Paris." He waved the group over to his holotome, which he then started using to scan the map. "A mystical ring I believe has something to do with her legendary abilities." The paper glowed white, before showing an image of the catacombs.

"Our mission: The Mystery of the Paris Catacombs. We need to find where the secret entrance is located, explore the underground tombs, and come back with Joan of Arc's ring." A mission card appeared in the holotome's light, and the gold-eyed Seeker at the head of the group plucked it out. Loki smiled, but then stopped, and frowned at her teammates.

"It sounds easy- what's the catch?" Dante bowed his head and sighed.

"Unfortunately Loki is right. There is a catch- the map only shows the underground route. We have to find the entrance ourselves." Will shook his head, disappointment clear in his emerald eyes.

"Any clues?" Nodding, the auburn leader flipped over the map. On the back was an inscription in old-fashioned cursive, a flowing script long since abandoned.

"It can be see through the eyes of the most beloved lady." Loki read out loud, reading over one trench coat covered shoulder. "But who is the most beloved woman in France?"

Will snorted, and shook his head. "Not is, was. She'll be long dead by now." Zhalia padded over, having ignored Dante's initial summons, and tilted her head to one side. Her brown eyes were full of confusion.

"Alright, but how are you meant to measure love?" The fair-haired teen standing behind Dante moved away, pacing back and forth in front of the window.

"By the number of people who loved her." She answered the blue-haired woman's question, azure eyes flashing with that familiar glint. Though it meant the mission to them, the girl was enjoying the first real puzzle she had had in ages! "It's a riddle! Who was the lady loved by all? Our lady…" The blonde trailed off, staring out the window. Suddenly, she span back around.

"Guys, we're going sightseeing! It's Notre Dame- the cathedral!" Dante shook his head, not surprised in the least.

"Get ready then. We're on the next train to Paris."

* * *

><p>A long wait and a train ride later, the group stood in front of the majestic Notre Dame. The two younger members were downcast, having had to say goodbye to their new friend. Peter had to stay in Rouen, to continue his work with the Foundation there.<p>

Hearing a beeping not unlike to a mobile, Dante pulled out his holotome. When he opened it, Guggenheim's face appeared. Loki darted forwards, her eyes bright with interest. "Wow!" She whispered. "That is so cool!"

The green light image spoke up. "Dante, I see you've made it. Goodo." The team waved hello, Loki grinning happily, with Will and Zhalia being a bit more dignified.

"Guggenheim." The russet haired Seeker bowed his head in greeting. "Have they uncovered anything in the cathedral?"

The man Huntik operative shook his hologram head. "Notre Dame has been a base of operations for the Foundation for decades, but they haven't got a scrap of information on the Ring of Arc."

Dante stared up at the massive cathedral. "And that just makes me more suspicious." The blonde teen behind him followed his gaze, and began to search the many faces of the statues adorning the walls. There was something...familiar about one on the east turret.

"Be careful, Dante," Guggenheim finished, his blue eyes grave. "The Organization is on the move in Paris, they're searching for something. And they want it badly." The golden-eyed man holding the holotome thanked his friend for the tip, and closed the machine. Will walked over from where he was talking to Cherit, and tilted his head back to look at Notre Dame.

"If Our Lady refers to this place," He began lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the bright, Paris sunlight. "What does Notre Dame see? Where are the eyes on a cathedral?" Emerald eyes scoured the walls of the mighty building, knowing the answers lay amongst the brickwork.

Zhaila padded over, her coffee eyes sharp. She was the first to notice the growing smile on Loki's face. "What?" The blue-haired Seeker asked, not liking the expression one bit. Even after only knowing the girl a few days, the Huntik agent knew that face meant trouble.

The azure-orbed teen smiled smugly. "Statues." She said, as if that explained everything. The team just stared at her, not understanding, till the girl finally rolled her eyes and explained properly.

"The eyes of the cathedral are on the statues." Cherit made a little 'oh' noise of comprehension, and flew from the Casterwill boy's shoulder to the blonde's.

"Well done, lass!" He paused to glance at the church. "But which one? There are so many." The teen's smile grew wider, having spotted the right one an age ago.

"Remember how we found the secret passage?" The brunette and auburn men nodded, but the ever-unsocial Zhaila just stared. "Well, look at the east turret. The gargoyle there looks just like the statue in the cave!" Dante moved to stand next to his student, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Good job. Can you point it out for me?" The blonde lifted a hand to single out a gargoyle on the highest point of the left tower. "Right." The amber-eyed Seeker nodded. "Let's go see what that gargoyle has its eye on."

* * *

><p>Dante decided to take just Loki with him up Notre Dame, to teach the girl a new trick or two. He hadn't thought that she might object.<p>

"Urm, you do know I'm not good with heights, right?" The pair were on the side of the gargoyle's tower, plastered to the side of the building like flies, their clothes and hair whipping in the wind. The mahogany-haired man frowned down at his pale student. She was quivering like a leaf.

"But you fly around with Kipperin all the time!" He yelled down to her. Large blue eyes glanced up at him, before returning to staring resolutely at the wall.

"Fly being the operative word! If I had him with me, if I tripped I wouldn't fall to my death! I'd fly back to the wall!" She half-screamed over the wind. Her creamy Irish complexion was turning steadily greener, and her lips were in a thin, white line. The older Seeker shook his head.

"Really, Loki! You are the most impossible child I've ever met!" The girl glared at him, before scuttling up a bit further when the wind lulled.

"What? You think it's not normal to be scared of going splat? Didn't think so!" The wind screeched, blowing harder than ever, and the blonde gripped the wall with white-knuckled fingers. "Isn't there a flight power, or something?" Dante shook his head.

"Just keep climbing, we're almost there!" The man clambered nimbly up the wall, jumping and swinging onto a narrow ledge. Biting her lip till it bled, the girl complied, but slipped and was left holding on with one hand whilst her feet scrabbled for purchase.

When she finally regained her footing, Loki looked like she was about to vomit. "I really don't think I can go anymore! I need to use Kipperin!"

Her mentor called down from where he was standing. "Conserve your power! If what Guggenheim said is true, then we're going to have a fight on our hands soon enough- and we both know what they're searching for..." His voice trailed off, pulled away by the wind, leaving them to think about the two times they had met the Organization in France. Both times, the suits and Defoe had demanded they hand over Loki, and the second, Defoe had let slip that the Professor had plans for the 16 year old. The Huntik team didn't know what, and could only guess that it was bad.

"Great!" The blonde yelped as the wind tugged at her long hair. "What good will conserving do if I fall now?"

"Your goal is right in front of you! Don't back down; just make sure you stay in the shadows! You _can _do this Loki!" He moved to the edge of the ledge he was on, before running for the edge. "Follow me!" The azure-eyed teen only just stopped herself from screaming as her friend jumped, shouting "Hyperstride!" His legs glowed blue, and Loki remembered the way that the suits had chased her and Will just a week ago, when she first discovered this strange, new world. Dante flew across to the opposite tower, and used the wall to spring back across. He landed on the gargoyle's ledge, and leant back, grinning. "Your turn!"

The girl closed her eyes, and focused. "Don't look down, don't look down!" She chanted, gathering her will and courage. She leapt as high into the air as she could, yelling "Hyperstride!". Coming up short, she only just managed to grab the slab of rock where Dante was standing. "Little help...please. I'd rather not fall to my doom today." The russet-haired Seeker laughed, before reaching down and hauling her up. His eyes shone with admiration for his young friend, for conquering her fears and for making such a big jump.

"Good first effort. Next time, try aiming a little lower. You could have done it in two jumps, you know?" The girl laughed shakily, bent over with her hands on her knees.

"Didn't think of that." Straightening up, she took the offered binocular like object that the amber-eyed man had pulled from his jacket, and looked around. "There's nothing special..." The Lambert trailed off, remembering something her father had once said.

_"To understand a riddle, you have to think like the person who wrote it."_

She looked over the Paris skyline again, remembering the scant details she knew about Joan of Arc. The most important thing she could recall was that the lady had been very religious. Smiling now, she looked a third time, and saw the obvious answer to the riddle. A church was the highest thing on the horizon, its steeple the tallest thing for miles around.

"That church!" Loki cried happily, pointing it out to her older companion. The man nodded, determination clear in his golden eyes.

"Then we start there."

* * *

><p>Once Loki and Dante had gotten safely to the ground, the team found a map of Paris, and worked out which church it was that the blonde had seen. Finally agreeing on a church, they made their way to it, arriving a little after midday. The grand front doors of the tall building were chained together, with a padlock barring the way to the Huntik agents.<p>

"Looks like its been closed down for a while." Dante murmured, reaching into his trench coat. He pulled out a lock pick set. Will's eyes widened, their jade depths filled with surprise.

"We're breaking in?" He whispered, shocked. The russet-haired man paused for a second before replying.

"Of course not. I'm merely picking the lock, not breaking it." Zhalia snorted at the brunette's appalled expression.

"It's something any real Seeker should already know how to do." The Casterwill whirled around, eyes sparking at the blue-haired woman's patronising tone.

"What? How to break into churches?" He snapped, fed up with the way that Zhalia always acted- mean and spiteful. In fact, he was half expecting her reply.

"How to get the job done, no matter what's in the way." Even if he had expected it, the words grated on William's pride, and he had to clench his hands into fists to stop himself wiping that smug look of his team-mate's face.

"I am a real Seeker, Zhalia. I am the heir to the Casterwill family, and you will not speak to me like that!" Loki darted over from where she was standing, and slipped between the warring twosome. She placed a slim hand on each chest, and pushed them away from each other.

"Hey! Dante's kind of picking a lock in broad daylight here! So, would you kindly stop drawing so much attention to us? You can continue your 'I'm the best idiot' contest later, but right now, as Zhalia so nicely put it, we need to get the job done. Comprende?" Such was the anger in the girl's voice, that the two older, taller and stronger humans stepped back, embarrassment turning their cheeks a light pink- Will's more so than Zhalia's.

Behind them all, Dante finished with the lock. "Alright!" He crowed, opening the doors. "We're in!"

* * *

><p>The group walked in, Will and Zhalia shooting glares at one another ever few seconds. Dante shared a look with his blonde student, and shrugged. It seemed to him that the two of them <em>enjoyed <em>disliking each other. Cherit flew out of Loki's bag, having deemed it safe now that they were inside. He tried to peer out the windows, but was stopped by the thick layer of dust that coated them.

"This place is a sight!" He croaked, flitting from one to the other, a look of profound disgust on his tiny face. Will could only agree.

"Are you sure this is the right church? I don't see any clues." He called from where he was standing by the altar. Zhalia had been going to look there, but moved off when she saw that the Casterwill boy had got there first. She instead went to a brightly lit antechamber that was in the steeple.

"My instincts tell me we'll know it when he see it." Dante told the brunette, studying a painting of Joan of Arc that looked very similar to the one in the underground base.

Loki snorted quietly, and mouthed to her titan friend: "That means he doesn't know, doesn't it?" The little creature nodded, trying to cover up his own laughter with his hands.

"Hey, guys," Zhalia's voice echoed around the tall steeple, and she shield her eyes from the fierce glare of sunlight streaming from the top. "Where exactly was the gargoyle of Our Lady looking?" The blonde teen looked up from her snigger-fest, and rushed over.

After thinking a moment, she answered the question. "The cross, at the top of the steeple!" The blue-haired lady pointed to the top of the room she was in.

"The cross is at the top of this bell tower." The men of the team wandered over, interested in the girls' conversation.

"Hey," Will said tipping his head to one side. "There's sunlight coming straight down here! How?" Dante explained how reflection bounced the light down the tower, and that a mirror at the top of the steeple was probably responsible.

Loki bounced on her heels, excited. "That's not all it does!" She pointed at the circle in the floor at the team's feet. "It reflects that gargoyle's gaze too!" Zhalia nodded.

"That actually makes sense. The crystal trap in the passage worked on reflection too." The group smiled at one another, knowing the discovery was getting close, when an explosion rocked the room. Dante flung out a hand, backing away.

"Stay here!" He muttered, hoping that the two rebellious teens would listen to him this time. He reached the end of the antechamber, and craned his head round the corner, to see a mass of suits pouring through the main entrance. The Organization had caught up with them.

"Find out how to open it- I'll buy you some time!" He crept around the corner, leaving Zhalia, Will and Loki to figure out the secret entrance.

* * *

><p>The russet-haired Seeker walked calmly to the altar. "Looking for me?" He asked the suits, startling them and making them spin round from where they were gathering by the front doors.<p>

"Ah, Dante Vale, as confidant as ever." That came from Defoe, standing at the doors with a smug look on his face. "But, no, I'm afraid it's not you we want this time. Must be disappointing, but something else has taken your spot as number one priority of the Organization. Or rather, should I say, someone?." He laughed chillingly. Round the corner, Loki froze, eyes wide with disbelief. So her and Dante's guess was right- they were looking for her!

Defoe continued his little speech, lip curling with distain for his opponent. "Besides, you know you can't defeat this many of us alone. Give us what we want, and you won't get hurt." He smiled nastily. "Much. " During the talk, suits had run to surround the auburn man by the altar. The Huntik operative began to walk down the aisle towards his lanky enemy.

"I'm really starting to wonder about you, Defoe. Do you really think you'll take me without a fight?"

"What does it matter if it's a fight you can't win?" Grier walked forwards from where he was standing by his leader as Defoe continued. "Men, attack on my mark. You won't escape this time, Dante Vale."

* * *

><p>Back with the rest of the team, Zhalia was standing near the exit to the room, listening to Defoe prattle on, and getting ready to defend the two teens if any suits came too close. Will and Loki were knelt by the circle in the floor, with Cherit flying between them. The Casterwill threw his hands up in the air. "How are we meant to open this? It's a huge marble slab!" The Lambert had her eyes closed, and her brow was furrowed in thought.<p>

"There is a way to open it- we just have to find it." She murmured.

* * *

><p>In the main hall, Dante was preparing to square off against the suits. Weighing up his odds, he realised he was outnumbered more than even he could handle. Suddenly, a strange thought hit him. <em>Think like Loki<em>. So he did.

He knew that Defoe wouldn't fight him without back up- he was too strong for him. He also knew that Defoe wouldn't fight him because he was certain to win. Another thing was what had happened in the Cave of the Gargoyle- Dante could bet that the suits and Grier didn't know that their leader had abandoned them. The russet-haired Seeker wondered how they would react- when he thought of the perfect plan. It was one that the blonde teen in the antechamber would have been proud of. It was full of the mischief and deviousness that the girl used to persuade Cherit to play with her when the titan knew he would lose.

"If you're so confidant, Defoe." He said, finally. "Why don't you take me on yourself." Defoe gave his customary answer.

"Your physical strength is no match for my power!" Dante could have smiled. He was playing right into his hands.

"Sure, that's why you turned and ran in the Cave of the Gargoyle." Grier turned to face his commander, his face set with disgust. Some of the suits copied. "You even left your own men behind." All of the suits copied Grier. A chill wind swept through the open doors, ruffling the hair of the two men. The blonde minion and the suits moved out of the way of the coming fight, their expressions like hyenas waiting for a dying animal to give up.

"Come on Defoe. Just you and me. Show your men what kind of a leader you really are."

* * *

><p>In the steeple room, Loki and Will were still puzzling over the hidden door. "What do we do?" Will cried, running his fingers through his hair in a rare nervous gesture. "Dante's badly outnumbered!" The blonde teen crouched on the floor couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt- the Organization was here for her, Dante was fighting for her, Will and Zhaila were in danger because of <em>her<em>. Zhalia was listening at the end of the chamber, and half-turned to call to the teens.

"Dante needs me." Will was first to object- as usual when it came to the blue-haired woman.

"No, Zhalia. Dante told us to figure this out so we can find the Ring of Arc."

* * *

><p>Back with Dante, Defoe had finally gotten up the courage to fight. "Well, well, Dante Vale. I believe my new friend would like a rematch." The slimy man held up Gar-Ghoul's amulet. He summoned the titan in a flash of reddish-purple light. Dante smirked. This was too easy.<p>

"You want a rematch, you got one. Caliban!" Glowing blue, the Seeker called the Aztec warrior to his side. With a single swing of his hooked sword, Caliban sent Gar-Ghoul flying- but not with his wings. Defoe ran to the side, behind the columns lining the church. Dante followed him. The elite suit held his hands behind his back, and whispered: "Redcaps!" Invoking the two beetle-shaped amulets in his hand.

The two long-clawed titans leapt for the auburn Huntik operative, who jumped back out of the way of their flailing hands, grabbing a silver candlestick and holding it front of himself like a sword. He smashed one Redcap on the head, and then had to dash away from the other. He hopped onto a wooden pew, then onto the one behind, and the other behind that, as the other Redcap chased him. Jumping of the last bench, he flipped to land in a crouch. Defoe laughed.

"For all your talk, you're running scared, Dante Vale." The Foundation Seeker laughed.

"Running, perhaps. Scared," He shook his head. "Never!"

* * *

><p>In the bell tower, Loki's eyes finally snapped open, lit up with an idea. She scrambled to her feet, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Will, do you remember how Joan of Arc's first trap worked?" The boy nodded, not sure where this was going.<p>

"Only a Seeker's light would let us past." The blonde half-asked. When the brunette nodded again, she grinned. "Let's try lighting up those mirrors up there!"

Will shook his head. "But they'll know we're here!" The fair-haired teen paused at that, a glimmer of fear in azure eyes, knowing that the Organization had been searching for her desperately. Guggenheim had told them that- or at least, that they were looking fiercely for something. Defoe had just confirmed it was her.

"We have to do something!" She said at last, her fear for her friends overriding her self-preservation. "How much longer can Dante keep fighting out there?"

* * *

><p>The answer was not much. Backed against a pillar, the russet-haired man only just avoided a swipe, the claws of the titan instead burying themselves in the stonework, giving Dante enough time to run away. He ran to the wall nearby, the Redcap following, and used a move similar to the one Loki had used to defeat a suit in Rouen- he ran up the wall, flipped over the titan, then used a Touchram to slam it against the stone. He paused for a moment, catching his breath, before Gar-Ghoul flew over. As the gargoyle-like titan reached for the Huntik Seeker, Caliban rushed to his master's aid. The two titan's grappled, and Gar-Ghoul's tail swung round, catching Dante on the back of the head and sending him soaring into one of the few remaining pews. The man clambered slowly to his feet, rubbing where the titan had hit, wincing with pain.<p>

* * *

><p>"We only get one shot." Will was warning Loki in the antechamber. "As soon as I use the power, the suits will be all over us." The girl looked around, her blue eyes wide.<p>

"We're out of time- just try it, Will!" The boy sighed, and raised a hand.

"Fine, but remember that this was your idea! Raypulse!" An orange beam sprang from the Casterwill's hand, up into the steeple, bounced off a two mirrors, and came back towards the two humans. It hit one edge of the circle, and tipped the slab of marble on a set of hinges, revealing a tunnel underneath.

"It worked!" Will cried in amazement, staring at the secret entrance to the catacombs. Zhalia ran over, her mocha eyes glinting with triumph.

* * *

><p>Grier saw the flash of a power, and knowing that his men hadn't shot any, moved closer to investigate. He heard voices, and recognised them as the Casterwill boy, the Huntik operative Zhalia Moon, and priority number one, the Lambert girl. "Men! Over here!" The blonde minion and his suits raced across to the entrance of the antechamber. Dante saw them move, his amber eyes wondering why, then saw where they were going.<p>

"Hyperstride!" He yelled, using the blue power to get there first. He saw the slab turned on its side, and smiled. He knew that Loki could do it. He jumped down after his teammates, and ended up in a rocky tunnel.

"Are we going to make a stand here?" Zhalia called from down the rugged passageway. Dante shook his head, and stopped by the group.

"No. The Ring of Arc is our priority. If it has as much power as I think, we'll need it to fight the Organization." Hearing suits approaching, the auburn Seeker flung a Touchram at the ceiling, causing a cave-in in front of the suits, blocking the secret entrance to them. Defoe snarled, curling his hands into fist, knowing his prey had escaped...for now.

* * *

><p>AN: I just realized that Lok is officially an idiot. Why did he not use Hyperstride to do lots of little jumps? Men! Always think they have something to prove... Anyways, R&amp;R, and maybe I'll go faster!<p> 


	16. Chapter 15 Crawling the Catacombs Part 3

AN: Another chapter! I'll keep 'em coming IF you review!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 15- Crawling the Catacombs Part 3

Loki coughed, flapping a hand in front of her face to clear the dust, trying to peer through the foggy air to see if anyone had been hurt in Dante's cave-in. After checking her human teammates were safe, the blonde looked around for Cherit. He was hiding in her bag, but popped out when the teen explained it was safe.

"That was fun. Remind me to do that again sometime. I love risking my neck for no reason." That was Zhalia, running her fingers through her blue hair to rid it of dust. Seeing her, the golden-haired girl began to clean herself up too. Will just rolled his green eyes, and turned to Dante. The auburn man was dusting off his trench coat, and he shrugged at Will's questioning look.

"At least they won't be following us now." The youngest member of the team called over to Zhalia, her azure eyes sparking. "That gives us time to find the Ring before they catch us!" Cherit nodded, his grey eyes dancing with mirth at the sight of his human friends covered in rock dust.

Will sighed, shaking his head and sending dust flying. "Why is the Ring of Arc so important? What is it?" In reply, Dante pulled out his holotome, and opened it, flooding the rocky tunnel with light.

"I'm not entirely sure." The russet-haired Seeker admitted. "But I do know that some of the most powerful titans are contained in rings." Emerald, azure, and coffee eyes widened with surprise.

"You think that the Ring of Arc could contain a legendary titan?" The Casterwill boy gasped. The amber-eyed man nodded then, following the map that he had scanned into the holotome later, walked on. Loki shared an amazed look with Will, and the two of them raced after Dante, with Zhalia padding after them silently.

* * *

><p>After a while, the rocky tunnel became structured, before giving way to stone slabs, and man-made arches. The walls were lined with shelves, and each shelf was filled with bones. Even the walls themselves held bones- sometimes a skull or skeletal hand would reach out, as if asking for help. Loki was unnerved by the white figures, knowing that wherever they were was meant for the dead, and that the living had long since abandoned this place. Will, ever knowledgeable, soon realized where they team was.<p>

"We must be in the Paris Catacombs!" He stated to his companions, his voice echoing around the empty halls and corridors.

Dante soon confirmed it. "Yes. Foundation researchers believe that there are secret undiscovered portions of these ancient tombs." Looking around, Loki didn't find that hard to believe. The only other reason she could think of was that some poor explores had found those tombs- they'd just gotten lost in the endless maze that was the Catacombs!

"What are the Catacombs?" Loki asked, having only heard of them when planning the mission. Will was quick to tell her.

"Well, they were originally rock quarries, but in the 1700's the French started burying their dead down here." Suddenly, Dante called a halt, his holotome beeping like crazy. The team stopped, looking at the five identical corridors that led off from where they were standing.

"Wait. There's something strange about this hall." He murmured, the light from his machine making his face seem gaunt and skeletal.

* * *

><p>Up on the surface, Defoe was giving his men their orders. "They must not escape this time! They must not escape! Get every Organization member in France- every single one!" He clenched his gloved hands into fists, snarling his rage. "We shall turn these catacombs upside down until they are recovered!" A car pulling up behind the group cut off Defoe's rant. A door opened, and a longhaired suit scrambled out, carrying a small metal case. The suit ran up the steps, and offered the case to the lanky man at the top.<p>

"What is this?" Defoe growled, snatching it from the suits hands.

"I-it's a detailed m-map of the Catacombs, s-sir"

"What?" The thin man yanked open the case and pulled out the pile of papers within. "The Catacombs?" He gave a grim smile. "Perfect. I want an army for this- move out!" The suits gathered at the church entrance scattered, fearful expressions on each and every one's face.

* * *

><p>Back underground, Dante had finally chosen a path, and the group were following it happily. "I have a feeling this is no dead end." Was all he would say. Loki paused, falling behind slightly, staring in amazement at the array of crystals and semi-precious stones that lit up the walls.<p>

"These crystals are so cool!" The girl exclaimed. Will turned around from where he was walking by Dante, and rolled his emerald eyes at the blonde. The auburn Seeker half-turned too, a smile on his lips, and lifted up the book of Joan of Arc's notes that was in his hand.

"They're important too. The notes say '_touch the stone of light, and the pure of heart shall pass'_." The man reached out a hand to touch a glowing rock set into the rugged wall beside him, and the ceiling above his head burst into burning light. The teens shared a puzzled look, before shrugging and following their mentor's example.

"I guess Joan of Arc was way into all this crystals and light thing." The azure-eyed teen muttered as she touched the rock, looking at the roof of the tunnel with awe. Will touched the rock, causing light to blaze forth, and a door at the end of the passage way opened.

"Well," The brunette said, "She did have visions, remember. It's called seeing the light for a reason." The two younger members of the team laughed, the noise echoing along the corridor, making the shining rocks glow even brighter. Zhalia tried to hurry past the 'Stone of Light' without touching it, give the rock a distrustful glare as she passed, but as she did so, the roof collapsed. Surprisingly, Will was the first to respond.

"Zhalia!" He called, racing across to the pile of boulders where she had been, and starting to clear the way. Loki was quick to follow, her blue eyes wide with worry. Dante however just stood there, a stunned look on his face, and his golden eyes filled with an unnameable fear. One thought went round and round in his head-_ Is Zhalia dead?_ For some reason, this thought made his heart stop, his breath shake, and his hands tremble. He'd reacted this way when the team had been trapped in Jodis Lore's tomb, and again when Loki had been hurt in the Golem's Attic, but never for Zhalia. Had he grown attached to the blue-haired woman with the cold heart and warm eyes? Perhaps, but maybe he was just over reacting...

"Hang on!" the blonde teen called, helping Will to shift rocks out the way. Soon, a grouchy voice could be heard from the other side.

"I'm fine, I don't need your help! I can get free myself." Emerald eyes were rolled, and no one stopped helping.

"Honestly Zhalia, you sound like a petulant child. Stop moaning. We're a team, and we help each other- no matter what our differences." The brunette scolded. After a while, the missing woman was spotted, her leg trapped against the wall by a large rock. Whilst Loki dashed to pull the coffee-eyed Seeker free from one end, Will and a now moving Dante went to roll the boulder away.

"On my mark. One, two, three!" The men of the team push, and the girls pushed, and Zhalia was soon climbing shakily to her feet. "Are you okay?" The russet-haired leader asked, amber eyes scouring his teammate for injuries- quite like Will had done to Loki in Prague. Cherit rolled his eyes from where he was sitting on the blonde teen's shoulder. Why could none of these stupid humans see that they were in love?

The blue-haired agent gave a swift nod, dusting off her trousers. "I told you, I'm fine." The last comment was directed at the cobalt-eyed teen who was hovering nervously. the Irish lass blushed, and moved away. "Let's just go!" Zhalia snapped.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to them all, the Organization's army had arrived, and were pouring into the Catacombs by the hundred.<p>

* * *

><p>The team moved on, past more skeletons and bones, through some man-made passages, and some left by nature. "The ring chamber should be just ahead." Dante informed the group, heading down the corridor. Will and Zhalia nodded, but Loki wasn't listening. She has staring curiously at a puzzle box that was inside a side-room.<p>

"Hey, look!" She cried, pointing with one excited hand. "It's a puzzle box! I've seen these before!" The girl took a step forwards, then stopped and looked questioningly between the room and Dante. The auburn sighed, and gestured for her to go ahead.

"Just grab it and go- we're on a time limit here!" The blonde grinned, and raced to claim her prize. Will rolled his eyes- that girl was so predictable. That was probably the reason why what happened next didn't surprise him as much as it should had. As Loki picked up the puzzle, a portcullis dropped down over the room's entrance, and spikes appeared from the shrinking walls.

"Ooops." The fair-haired girl muttered, looking around with fearful eyes. Feeling the same feeling he had a while ago with Zhalia, Dante shot a Touchram at the metal barring the blonde's way. When the dust had cleared, the portcullis remained. Will stretched an arm through the bars, waving for Loki to come over.

"You have to get out!" The girl rolled her eyes.

"No duh! Now, shhh- let me think!"

Zhalia shut her eyes and turned away. Though the Seeker acted tough, even she wasn't cold-hearted enough to watch another human get squashed to death- and especially one as sweet as Loki.

"Urm, urm...The puzzle started the trap- maybe it'll end it too!" The trapped girl yelled, desperation radiating off her in waves of panic. As she began to fiddle with the puzzle in her hands, Will, too, looked away.

"I can't watch!" He whispered to Zhalia, who nodded, knowing exactly how he felt. Bonding through fear, the two stood beside each other without arguing for the first time.

"Hang on!" Dante shouted, rifling around in his pockets, before pulling out a purple-gemmed, rocky amulet. "Lend us your strength, Metagolem!" The mahogany-haired man invoked, glowing amethyst. The massive titan appeared, it's crowned head almost touching the ceiling.

"You have to free Loki!" The titan's Seeker ordered. Metagolem nodded once, then charged the gate. Nothing happened. He tried again, with the same result. After a third try, he disappeared back into his amulet, leaving a stunned and hopeless team behind.

"Come on, come on!" The scared teen muttered to herself. Suddenly, a voice sounded in her ear.

"The walls are closing in!" It was Cherit, who had been on her shoulder when she'd walked in. She didn't look from the puzzle in her hands, and merely said:

"Cherit, go." The titan shook his head, too frightened to move.

The walls inched ever closer, and Loki could help but notice. The closer the walls came, the faster her hands got. Her eyes narrowed to cerulean slits, glowing against her pale skin with a fierce determination. She did not want to die! Soon, the walls had come so close together that the pair trapped within weren't visible from the outside, and all that could be heard was the screeching of the walls as they scrapped along the floor.

Her eyes blazing with purpose, Loki slotted piece after piece into place, faster and faster, the walls getting so close that she had to move to avoid them. All at once, the puzzle clicked, and fit into a solid shape. It glowed white, sending the walls back to their place.

Dante rushed to the bars, not sure what to expect, and heaved a huge sigh at the sight of the teen virtually unharmed. "Loki!" He called, and the teen looked up, eyes wide with relief. Cherit flew from her shoulder, and slipped through the bars, a glad smile on his little face.

"Aye, she solved the puzzle!" At his words, the puzzle glowed again, brighter than before, and flew from Loki's hands. Once in the air, it changed from a box shape, to the form of an amulet. Now a two-tailed-shape, with a purple gem in the middle, it soared back to its new Seeker. As soon as it touched the girl's waiting palm, it glowed violet, and the newest addition to the Huntik team appeared.

It was a purple squirrel with two fox-like tails, and fire for eyes. It winked at Loki, delighted to have finally found a Seeker with as much wit and deviousness as itself, before disappearing back into its amulet.

The blonde stared in wonder at her hand for a moment, before running out of the trap-room, and into the arms of her teammates. Well, Dante's and Will's at least. Zhalia just patted the girl on the back. Loki smiled, knowing that doing that one, small, action had taken a lot from her blue-haired companion. Drawing back, the whole team shared a relieved smile.

"Only you could have gone in for a puzzle and ended up with a near death experiance." Will mumbled, blushing and looking away. The azure-eyed girl tilted her head to one side, considering this, before bowing her head.

"I now realize that puzzles are bad. But they're so damm irresistible!" The group laughed, and Loki looked up, more serious now. "Remind me to _never _do that again."

Cherit looked at the blonde, then frowned and flew around her head. "Where did the puzzle go, Loki?" The girl tilted her head to one side, then grinned and opened her fist.

"It turned into an amulet!" She explained, handing the pendant to Dante. "The titan bonded with me!" The auburn smiled fatherly, a proud glint in his eyes, and then placed the fox-squirrel's amulet on the holotome.

"Well done. Let's check out your new friend." The titan appeared in the holotome's light, and the statistics scrolled in front of the machine's watchers. "You found Springer." The russet-haired man laughed. "This titan is capable of solving complex puzzles, and intricate traps. You two have a lot in common." He handed Springer back to his Seeker, and put away the holotome. "Come on. This way."

The team set off, Will and Loki holding hands but studiously ignoring the fact, but they hadn't gone far before an explosion rocked the passage- a Raypulse had just blown out the wall a few meters back. "Hurry!" Dante yelled, pushing into a run. "The Organization are catching up to us!"

* * *

><p>As they disappeared round the corner, a multitude of suits charged out of the new door, set on catching their prey.<p>

* * *

><p>Dante led the group through a maze of tombs and skeletons, shaking off their pursuers. Finally, they arrived at an ornately carved door. Giving the team a grin, the mahogany-haired leader pushed open the door. "The Ring of Arc."<p>

"We made it!" Loki cheered, right behind her mentor. Golden eyed gave her stern look.

"It's not over yet." The blonde nodded, growing serious.

The five some walked down the domed hall, past row upon row of suits of armour. Each one held a deadly weapon. The youngest member of the team, with the oldest resting on her shoulder, was unnerved by their empty faces. True, Freelancer was a suit quite alike to these, Kilthane too, but the titans' fire-eyes gave them life and spirit that was quite lacking in the suits surrounding them.

As the group reached the centre of the hall, the weapons glowed a ghostly pale green, and floated from their owners' grips, before flying to encircle the Huntik operatives.

"Is it the Organization?" Will cried, standing back to back with his friends. "How could they get here before us?" Dante shook his head, reaching into his pocket for his amulets.

"I have a feeling it's much worse than that. It's the knights of Arc's inner circle!" He lifted his hand, Caliban's amulet clasped within. "Hand to hand titans only!" The Seeker ordered his team, summoning his Aztec warrior to his side.

Loki gave a sharp nod, and pulled Freelancer from her belt-pouch, a wild smile of battle gracing her lips. "Join me, Freelancer!" She flared a peachy fire, and her knight stood beside her. The French-styled suit of armour inclined his head to his Seeker, before stepping forward to meet his opponents.

Will lifted a horned amulet from about his neck. "Sabriel!" He invoked, glowing a similar colour to his blonde friend. His pink-haired fencer sprang from the pendent, bowed to her Seeker, and then padded over to join Freelancer.

Zhalia called Kilthane in a flash of orange flames, who swung his jagged sword in a salute to her, before racing into battle.

The fight went well at first, with both sides trading blows. Freelancer was the first to return, flowing back to Loki in a stream of apricot energy. "There's got to be an easier way!" Yelled Will, looking back and forth between the various weapons. He span, spotted the most concentrated area of enemies, and shot a Breakspell into their midst. The two swords the Casterwill had hit paused, before turning and heading for the humans.

"You've made it worse!" Loki cried, running from a short-sword. Dante could only agree, as a spear cornered him. As it thrust for him, the auburn grabbed its middle, and tried to force it back. The spear, having other ideas, flew into the air and flung its impromptu passenger off. The amber-orbed man soared through the air, tucked, rolled, and came up in a crouch.

In the meantime, the blonde teen and her tiny titan friend had been backed into a corner by the weapon chasing them._ "No room!" _The girl thought, backing away from her opponent. _"Can't invoke Kipperin...What _can _I do?" _Suddenly, the Lambert recalled how she and Dante had scaled Notre Dame, and the new power he had taught her there. "Hyperstride!" She shot up, just as the sword lunged forward. Having not thought about landing, she crashed into a suit of armour, knocking it into pieces. The sword fighting Dante fell to the floor, its power broken along with its armour. The russet-haired man whirled around to find the cause, and saw Loki picking herself after her crash-landing.

As everyone was distracted by the discovery, Kilthane was destroyed. He returned to Zhalia, just as a sword to the back defeated Sabriel, leaving the team titanless. Dante ran to the middle of the room, his blonde student following close behind. "Group up!" The blue and brown haired humans ran to join their friends.

"Nothing's working!" Will cried, emerald eyes flickering from one weapon to the other. "Any ideas?" Dante leapt forwards, grabbing a sword's handle, and used it like a swing to kick a suit's helmet off. The sole mace in the room fell to the floor.

"Just one!" The auburn told his companions. "Target the knights, not the weapons!"

The Casterwill nodded. "The source of the enchantment is the armour, so...Breakspell!" An orange beam sprang from the boy's hand, slamming into a suit, which fell to the ground in pieces. A sword fell too.

"Keep it up!" The golden-eyed Seeker fighting the weapons yelled, his eyes bright with new hope. The brunette nodded, and sent a volley of Breakspells into various suits. Dante helped with a few Touchrams here and there. Loki stood by, unsure as to how to help, and didn't notice a pair of swords sneaking up on her. Zhalia pulled her out of the way as they imbedded themselves in the floor.

"Will's the expert on magic- let him deal with it!" The woman advised. The blonde nodded once, then stood back. Soon all the suits, and their weapons, lay motionless on the ground. Knowing that their other opponents, the Organization suits, would soon be upon them, the team made their way to the ring with due haste. As they walked down the hall, dodging pieces of the suits, Loki glanced around to congratulate Will.

"Will?" He was standing at the back of the room, leaning on the wall with one hand, and swaying. He looked up at his friend's cry, gave a flickering smile, and collapsed. "Will!" The blonde teen yelled, running back over the suits, scrambling around what she had just carefully picked her way around.

Dante turned at the shouts, and saw what he had already suspected would happen. The mentor went to his students, and gingerly gathered his male pupil into his arms. Straightening up, he explained what had happened to the panic-stricken girl by his side. "He's used too many powers too quickly. He's just tired, that's all. He should have told us instead of trying to be all macho." Loki nodded, but still looked worried.

Just at the wrong moment, the door they had first entered through began to light up. "The Organization!" Zhalia yelled, running to the ring, with the blonde teen on her heels. "We have to get out of here...with that ring!" As the women ran, the elder grabbed a spear. Reaching the case containing the ring, the blue-haired lady raised the weapon above her head, and brought it down upon the glass. The thinner girl reached a slim arm through the jagged hole, and plucked the ring from its resting place.

"Wait!" Dante called, a second too late, as Loki screamed, and keeled over, glowing a sickly green. Zhalia sighed, and knelt next to the blonde to check if she was alright.

"Great, now we have two unconscious teens _and _a bunch of suits to deal with. You couldn't have warned her sooner?" Carrying the Casterwill boy, the russet-haired man hurried over, face ashen.

"I was going to take it, not her! God knows what the ring is showing her! She isn't prepared for this!" He murmured, his voice thick with guilt. Zhalia gave him a comforting look, but feared it wasn't enough to make Dante stop beating himself up.

* * *

><p>Whilst Dante and Zhalia were worrying over their young charges, the ring was showing Loki scenes, some she recognised as the past, others as the future. Some she didn't know, and didn't want to.<p>

_Fire, enfolding her, covering her, burning and scorching and full of pain._

_A fat, old man in a suit with a cane. A scar crossed his blind right eye, and yet both were full of evil and cruelty. Somehow, she knew that this was the Professor, and the man who sought her for his own evil schemes._

_Dante, falling, swiping at something that was impossibly far away._

_A week ago, the Redcaps advancing through the fire, only this time there were much, much more of them. They leapt for her, and she span away, towards a golden figure._

_She neared the figure, and it turned into Eathon Lambert. "Father?" The blonde whispered, and her dad held out an amulet- gold with four jewels in its centre, two green and two red. Just as she was about to reach her father, and touch him, Loki fell backwards, into a black hole, losing sight of the man she had lost._

_The Professor, and army of suits, the old man lifting a hand glowing with power._

In the real world, the blonde forced open her hand, dropping the ring to the floor, and opened her eyes, gasping for breath.

* * *

><p>Not far away, Defoe and his men heard her screams. One suit tipped his head, confused, and asked what the noise was. Their thin leader gave a grin of satisfaction. "It's our prey- move it!" The suits ran, pounding closer and closer<p>

* * *

><p>Back with the team, Zhalia was helping the shaken Loki to her feet. "What...what was that?" The blonde whispered hoarsely. Her blue-haired friend shrugged, and turned to Dante.<p>

"We have to find a way to contain the ring. It's under a curse, and we must prevent it from falling into the hands of the Organization." The teen's eyes widened with horror, and she looked at the object with disgust.

* * *

><p>The suits sped up, knowing their prey was near.<p>

* * *

><p>Zhalia put her hands on her hips. "How are we going to escape carrying him?" She pointed an accusing finger at Will. Loki padded over.<p>

"And whenever we touch the ring, it goes crazy! So, what do we do?" Cherit flew to the girl's side, his wings flapping faster than usual in a way to contain his panic.

"Loki, we have to do something...now!"

* * *

><p>AN: End to episode 5! I'll post as fast as possible!<p> 


	17. Chapter 16 Divide and Conquer

AN: And the start of the next episode is here! Read on, faithful reviewers! If you review, my internet might work again!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 16- Divide and Conquer Part 1

Deep in the twisting underground tombs of Paris, the Huntik team were feeling the Organization close in, and knew that their situation was getting desperate. Will was unconscious, Loki was still shaky after her experience with the ring, and Dante and Zhalia were tired after the fight with Joan of Arc's knights. If they didn't get away now, it seemed like they never would.

As the two adults of the group discussed plans of action, Loki, with Cherit on her shoulder, sat a little distance away. They were talking to each other about the ring's visions, and what they could mean, but were coming up blank every time. They just made no sense. Whilst they chatted, the blonde let her eyes wander, and noticed something odd about a large piece of the floor a few steps away. It was oddly shaped, and much lighter than the rest of the floor. The edges of the stone were worn, slightly, as if it had been...moved. Pointing it out to her titan friend, she padded over, eyes lighting up with hope. The girl pressed down on one edge of the stone, and felt it shift below her. Smiling now, she rapped it with her knuckles. When the sound echoed out, the smile grew wider. Hollow.

"Hey, guys, I think there's another exit back here!" Her teammates looked up, and Zhalia ran over, Dante following a bit slower, held down by his human burden. When they reached the fair-haired teen, the coffee-eyed woman knelt down and helped to lift the stone up. Underneath, in all its dusty glory, was a tunnel.

"Then we don't need this one." The blue-haired Seeker muttered, half to herself, straightening up and dashing over to the only other door in the room. "Touchram!" She yelled, sending two bolts of green energy to cause a cave-in in front of the door, sealing it off. Dante nodded, and moved to the new escape route.

"Zhalia, get the ring." Loki's azure eyes went wide; shocked that her mentor could order their teammate to do something they both knew was dangerous.

"Wait-" The teen began, her voice laced with fear, knowing just what that _thing _could do. She was stopped by the sight of her mocha-eyed companion lifting out a hand, the ring flying through the air to reach it, and of Zhalia glowing a dusty red, like that of old blood. She cried out, but didn't fall, instead lifted the hand holding the ring to her head, and shouted "Headcage!" For an instant, a cage made of green energy bars surrounded the woman's head, and then the ring's glow disappeared, and Zhalia smiled, slipping the ring onto a finger.

"Impressive." Dante congratulated. "That's not a spell you see everyday. Now, everyone, out the back!" The team ran, and as they did so, Loki slipped a hand into the one that Zhalia wasn't wearing the ring on. After giving a tight squeeze, the blonde let go, knowing that her blue-haired friend didn't like mushy stuff, and ran on ahead.

Instead of comforting the woman, it just made her feel worse. Although she had used the Headcage power to shield her mind from the ring's dreadful power, it had showed her a few things first.

_Herself, reaching out a hand, glowing with furious, deadly rage, and striking down person after person, everyone she'd ever known. First, just children she'd met as a child, then random strangers she'd passed on the street. Each face flickered by as fast as a heartbeat, and after a second had passed, the people became her friends- Guggenheim, Will, Loki, and finally, Dante. At that last face, the ring-Zhalia gave an evil smile, and set her most powerful attack yet to destroy him. And in that instant, the real Zhalia felt more lost than she'd ever felt before, her heart clenching with worry and fear. And guilt- endless burning guilt. _

_The worst thing was that Zhalia knew she could do it. She knew, that if it came down to it, she could kill them all. _

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Defoe and his suits had reached Zhalia's blockade. The lanky man snarled. "How foolish- this won't even slow me down!" A suit stepped forwards.<p>

"Sir, shall we start digging?"

"Just get out of my way!" Came the reply, as Defoe reached for the amulet that hung about his neck. "Kreutalk!" The ray-like titan appeared beside its master, awaiting orders.

"Acid-attack!" Defoe yelled at his creature. It obliged, and spat a stream of vivid green liquid to destroy the rocks. "Move out!" He shouted to his suits, and they ran forwards, faces eager.

A while passed, and while it was immediately noticeable that the Huntik team were gone, it took a moment longer for a suit to call out that their second priority had gone too.

"How could Dante Vale have given us the slip?" Behind yellow lenses, Defoe's eyes flashed with hate.

* * *

><p>Eyes fluttered open, their owner wincing at the bright light, and moaning as he sat up. "Where...what happened?" At the sound of the voice, Loki span and around from where she was standing with Dante, and ran to Will's side.<p>

"Will!" She cried, kneeling down and hugging him. "You're okay!" Blushing, the brunette shrugged the girl off.

"Course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" He said, tone harsh, but eyes kind. The blonde only saw his eyes, and was barely listening to what he was saying, far too happy that he was awake.

"We're glad you're awake, lad. You gave us quite a scare." This came from Cherit, who had flown over when the boy had woken up. "You over reached yourself." Will gave a snort of disgust, and climbed to his feet.

"Great." He muttered. Leaning on Loki, just a bit, the Casterwill made his way over to the rest of the team. Dante was smiling, relief in his eyes, and Zhalia was just looking. Strangely, the Casterwill saw guilt in her eyes, as clear and bright as day. The boy wondered what she had done, or rather, when he saw the ring hovering above the table, what she was going to do.

"Something is wrong with the ring." He said, deciding to ignore it...for now. "It's cursed- I can feel it." Azure eyes were rolled, but their owner said nothing. She just smirked.

"We can't do anything with the ring like this." Dante explained, amber eyes serious. "Know any good spells, Will?" The brunette nodded sharply.

"Yes. Or rather, perhaps. I've read about this spell, but I've never actually used it. Obviously, cursed objects are rather rare, and I've had nothing to practise on."

The blonde by his side gave him a nudge. "You'll be fine. I know you can do it!" Surprised by the girl's belief in him, Will took a deep breath, stepped away from Loki, and faced the ring. Immediately, images passed through his mind, one after the other, each one worse than the last.

_The fire when he was five, calling for his parents, and somehow knowing that they wouldn't answer, ever again._

_Zhalia attacking him, a look of utter hatred on her face._

_A flash of a strange blue power, swirling around. Will was unsure as to what it was, or what it was doing. The power weakened by the minute, and for some reason, this was bad, like someone was dying._

_Dante, fighting and knowing that he was going to lose._

_Sabriel, her sword shattering, and her amulet following suit. She disappeared, gone forever._

Suddenly, Loki's voice shone through the darkness. "Will! Come back to us!"

Focusing, Will managed to cry out the power through the images screaming at him. "Revoke!" The ring glowed brighter than ever, but this time its light was not the evil, sickly green of the curse. It was instead a pure, white light that seemed much more fitting with its Seeker, Joan of Arc. As the ring landed on the table, the boy slumped, exhausted by his use of power.

"It worked!" Loki cheered, eyes shining with admiration for her friend. "You did it!" The Casterwill reached out to stop the ring falling off the table, and sighed.

"Yes, but only for maybe 30 minutes. After that, the curse will overpower my magic."

Dante put a hand on the Casterwill's shoulder. "It's 30 minutes more than we had. Good work." Will smiled, and forced himself to straighten up.

* * *

><p>In the meantime, the suits had given up finding the Huntik team. "Sir, we have searched everywhere, but we were unable to find them." Grier rumbled, finishing off his report to Defoe. The brunette grinned.<p>

"No matter. We know every single exit from these Catacombs. We'll catch them on the way out." The blonde minion nodded, then gave a sharp, military spin on one heel.

"You have your orders. Split up, and cover the exits." The suits saluted, and disappeared into the maze-like tunnels.

* * *

><p>"Seekers, we have a mission, aptly named Joan of Arc's Ring." Reminiscent of their first mission, both teens rolled their eyes. "Our objective: Protect the ring of Arc from the Organization, and safely deliver it to a Huntik Foundation safe-house." He plucked the card from the holotome, and changed the screen to show a map of the Catacombs.<p>

"Notre Dame is a Huntik Foundation safe house, so that's where we're headed, right?" Will asked, looking at the map intently. Loki crouched down so she was on level with the holotome, and pointed out the massive obstacle in their way.

"I haven't seen so many bad suits since the TV got stuck on the news channel. We'll never get past them!" She quipped, eyes scanning the map for any way out, any at all. She shared a look with Dante, eyes fearful at the prospect of what lay ahead. The russet-haired man moved forwards to kneel by her side.

"True, but if we split up, our chances increase, and the holotome will help us avoid the suits." The team nodded, but the blonde hunkering on the floor spoke up.

"So, we take the paths of least resistance- but who takes the ring?" Zhalia stepped forwards; her hand folded over something, and gave a wicked grin before revealing her prize.

"Luck for you, my disguise kit has a number of rings. I modified them with a spell, so now we have three fakes." The azure-eyed teen laughed, eyes sparking with pleasure at the devious and mischievous idea.

"So we'll all have one! The Organization won't know who to go after!" Will plucked a ring from the table, frowning.

"It's a good plan, but what if one of us gets caught? Their magic can steal the info right from our heads!" Cherit and Loki pulled faces.

"Why did no one mention that before?" The girl groaned to the little creature, running a hand through her flaxen locks. Golden eyes rolled as their owner explained.

"Exactly. That's why no one will know who has the real ring but me."

* * *

><p>A while later, and the suits and the Huntik team had spread out through the entire Catacombs. Some local suits, their accents giving away their nationality, were mooching along. They were talking as they went, grumbling about their mission, Defoe, and the Foundation in particular.<p>

"No Foundation operative would be stupid enough to come down here!" One muttered, his dark eyes full of hate. The other scoffed, and flicked his long, silver ponytail over his shoulder.

"I wouldn't be so sure. They are a pretty stupid bunch." Footsteps echoed down the passage, and a figure familiar from wanted posters loomed into view, a blue, helmet wearing, bird titan on his shoulder.

"Dante Vale!" The suits gasped, glaring at each other. Speak of the devil...

The auburn laughed, but the sound was cold. "You boys are local, aren't you? Looks like Defoe's been recruiting. I'd be flattered, except it's been done before." The man's golden eyes flashed mockingly, and the suits snarled.

"What's it matter?" The pony tailed one hissed, his French accent making the 'w' a 'v'.

Dante put his hands in his pockets and sighed, brushing past the suits with a look of sorrowful regret on his face. "I'm going to give you a chance to back out, seeing as you have no idea what you're in for." The suits looked at each other incredulously.

"Ridiculous!" Ponytail barked, reaching for a spiky amulet in his jacket. "Jokoul!" In a burst of purple light, the titan appeared. It was human-shaped, with horns and long, blue-black hair sprouted down its back, across its chest, and on the top of each foot. It wore a loincloth, and had bandages wrapped around its feet like shoes. Its eyes were red fire, and its hands were made of rock, tipped with stalactite claws. Grinning, it gave a primal roar.

The other suit summoned the ever familiar Redcap, and the battle commenced. Solwing flew at the suits, pecking and scratching, giving time for his Seeker to call Caliban to his side. "Let's finish this up." The Foundation agent told his allies, and the Aztec warrior sprang to deal with the titans, the helmet wearing bird following closely. Dante moved forwards, a grim smile on his face, and tossed one unfortunate suit over his shoulder. The blue warrior across the room swung his sword, slicing a Redcap in half, so only Jokoul remained.

The silver-haired suit shot a Raypulse at the Huntik operative, but Dante jumped back. As the smoke cleared, he ran towards his enemy, pulling back a fist, and punching him in the jaw. The suit went down, out for the count.

Suddenly, Caliban fell, his ankle clasped in Jokoul's stone-like claws. His russet-haired master sent Solwing to help, and the bird titan flew down upon the rock-armed creature like a vengeful Fury from the tales of old, shrieking his anger. The titan, needless to say, was defeated in an orange flash, which then flowed back to his Seeker. The last suit, who had been skulking in the shadows, crept forwards timidly, and you could tell his heart wasn't in it. Dante let him off with a harmless (or at least, for him) kick that sent the French agent flying into a wall. Smiling, the Huntik operative pulled a ring from his pocket.

"Still want this?" He questioned. The suit was quick to answer.

"No, not really." His voice came out as a breathless wheeze, and the amber-orbed man could have laughed at the pained expression creasing his opponent's face.

"Then go!" Dante told the Organization man, gesturing in the opposite direction to himself with one hand. "And tell all your friends I have it." He turned and walked away into the maze of tunnels.

* * *

><p>Not far away, Loki was, shall we say, improvising. Cherit flew around her shoulders, as the young teen deviated off course, a broad smile on her face. "I'm sure this isn't the route Dante planned." The titan groused, a sour look upon his tiny features. The blonde grinned, and crawled down a small side-passage.<p>

"Oh well. I memorized the map, so I know where I need to be. I'm just taking a different route to get there!" Cherit sighed, and started muttering about an age when children did as they were told.

Shivering, the girl brushed cobwebs off herself, and looked around in awe at the chamber she had 'discovered'. "Wow! Just look at this place, Cherit! Nobody's been here for hundreds of years!"

The white creature huffed, and flew around in front of the azure-eyed teen, making her stop. "You know, Loki, I'm meant to be here to keep you out of trouble!" Loki shrugged, and smiled again.

"Oh, stop worrying! You don't think Dante expected us to follow that route, do you?" The titan sighed, and realized the even if the auburn wanted the blonde to follow the path he had chosen for her, he probably didn't expect her too. That was probably the reason he had sent Cherit with the teen, and not with the exhausted Will, who was more likely to need help.

"Aye, my lass, you're probably right at that." The pair moved forwards, the cave gradually getting darker, till Loki called out for a light to guide them.

The Boltflare revealed a haunting scene. The skeletons of dead soldiers lay all around, and a single, bloody sign was hammered above their heads. It read: _Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood_. All in French of course.

"The revolution." The blonde whispered, her eyes full of solemn grief for these men and boys, who had lost their lives down here in the dark, all for what they believed was right.

"Aye, Loki. War is a terrible thing, indeed." The two stood there for a moment, heads bowed and honouring the dead. They moved on, hiding, and the human sat down to lean against a pillar.

"I guess these guys came down here to hide during the war, hey?" Cherit nodded, frowning at the lingering sadness in the child's eyes.

"Are you alright, lass?" He asked, grey eyes grave.

"It's kinda hard to explain." Loki replied, reaching up to cup the Boltflare in her delicate hands. She drew the ball of magic down to where she was sitting; gazing into the twisting patterns as she told her titan friend what was on her mind.

"When I was real small, my Dad would bring home all kind of amazing things from his adventures, and I'd try to imagine all the incredible, secret places where he'd go to find them." The light from her Boltflare cast dark shadows over the girl's high, elfin features, and the shadows of her long eyelashes brushed her cheeks.

"Well, here you are!" Cried Cherit, happy to have come to a solution. The girl was just remembering happy times, was all! Her next words changed the titan's mind.

"Yeah. And here he isn't." With a sigh, she let the energy ball go, and it followed the curve of the pillar to light up a new area of the hall. "Hey, look at this!" Loki whispered, looking at the revealed skeleton- of a civilian!

"This was no solider!" Cherit agreed, flapping over to see. The girl was bent over a large box, and on its lid was...

"Archaeology tools?" The blonde lifted one up, peering at it curiously. "How well do you think these soldiers knew the Catacombs?" She mused, studying it closely.

The white titan flying behind her shrugged. "I don't remember much about times then. Revolutions tend to blur together, you know?" Loki knelt next to the box, and fiddle with the padlock a bit, before sighing.

"Time to test out-" She paused to fish an amulet from her belt-pouch. "Springer!" The titan appeared as a ball of indigo smoke, which quickly solidified into the squirrel-shaped titan that the blonde had found quite by accident earlier. Eyes wide, she poked one of his two fox-like tails, and the little titan span around and around chasing them, before falling over. Cherit giggled.

"Yep, Springer is definitely like you Loki, and he definitely likes you too!" The purple titan had jumped onto Loki's knee and was curling around her curiously, sniffling with his long nose. After a second he stopped, and hopped to sit on the box so he could see her better.

_"Puzzle?"_ Springer asked, looking around. His thoughts were fleeting and jumbled, his mind quickly going from one idea to the other. "_You are puzzler- I see it in you- where is the puzzle?_" In answer, his Seeker pointed to the lock of the box it was standing on. The titan sighed, disappointment dimming his fire-eyes. "_Simple. No bigger, difficult puzzle? No? Please?_" Loki laughed, before stroking the furry ears that pricked atop the titan's head.

"Sorry, little one. That's all there is, but it is very important." Springer sighed again, then set to work. He slipped a little claw into the keyhole, and wiggled it about a bit. Glowing a deep bluey-purple, the claw clicked into place, and the lock opened. The squirrel-shaped being gave a satisfied squeak, then spiralled back to his amulet saying: "_All yours, puzzler-lady. Better puzzle next time, yes?_"

The blonde gave a nod, then realized the titan probably couldn't tell she had done so, and told Springer that she would try, but he was just so talented that all the puzzles in the world were easy to him. The purple amulet hmmed smugly, the titan within pleased with the praise. Azure eyes crinkled with laughter, and their owner opened the lid of the now unlocked chest.

"Huh?" The girl gasped, looking at the decayed contents of the box. "These soldiers were just normal people! They needed a guide to hide down here!" Cherit flew to examine the civilian's skeleton.

"So this fellow is, I mean was, and archaeologist!" He turned back at the sound of coughing to see Loki flapping her hands against a cloud of dust. She'd picked up on of the books from the box, which was full of them, only to have in disintegrate in her hands. The teen tilted her head to one side, then plucked a relatively unharmed scroll.

"Hey, this one looks in good condition!" The blonde called to her flying companion, who then flapped over to her side as she unrolled it. Almost immediately, she was dropping the scroll and digging around in her belt-pouch for her father's journal, which she kept on her at all times.

"I knew I'd seen that drawing before!" She cried triumphantly, opening the book. And it was true, for the two pages matched right down to the ancient writing at the edges. Eathon had obviously copied this image from the sheet, or another copy elsewhere. Nodding, the girl scooped the parchment up and stowed both it and the journal away in her pouch. "If my Dad had a copy, then it must be important!"

Suddenly, a shadowy figure appeared at the entrance to the hall, though luckily Loki and Cherit were hidden by a pillar. "Hey," It called, revealing itself as an Organization suit. "There's a light down here!" Eyes wide, the girl and her titan dashed for cover.

* * *

><p>AN: And here we go again! There's a storm over my house at the moment, so the next chapter might be a little late in coming. I'm sorry, but even I can't control the weather. I'll update ASAP!<p> 


	18. Chapter 17 Divide and Conquer Part 2

AN: Sorry for the wait, but don't worry. It has so been worth it.

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 17- Divide and Conquer Part 2

"Look, over there!" One suit cried, his night-vision goggles allowing him to see clearly even after Loki had extinguished her Boltflare. The goggle's straight, red design made their wearers look uncannily like the two Redcaps behind them. So, with their vision unimpaired, the three suits that had just entered the hall shot Raypulses to stun their target.

Obviously, they were stunned themselves when the target blew up. "It's just a skeleton!" One cried in disgust, picking up a skull. The Redcaps snarled, furious that their prey had escaped.

"There!" Another yelled, pointing to another moving figure in the dark cave. An eager Redcap sprang, pulling it down, and came up with another skeleton. The suits growled.

"They're just trying to distract us so they can scram!" Suddenly, one Redcap went down, a Freelancer's lance through its back. It streamed back to its suit in a river of light.

"We're under attack!" A suit yelled, firing a Raypulse at the armoured titan. From where she was hiding, Loki thought _"And the winner of the most obvious comment of the year award goes to...that guy!"_ She sniggered quietly.

Freelancer held up his shield, the impervious metal protecting the titan from all the attacks sent his way. A fluttering, buzzing sound echoed around the chamber, and the blonde teen appeared from the shadows, Kipperin at her back. The pair dive-bombed one suit, giving them a nice roundhouse kick to the chest, and sending them flying. The green titan was laughing manically over the Bond, and it affected the girl somewhat, making her use childish phrases, and giggle.

"Thought I was gonna run? Nope!" She threw her copy of the ring into the air, giving them all a clear view, then caught it. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she flashed a winning smile at them. "I've got something to protect!" The suits snarled, and shot powers in vain, trying to hit the teen, and get both their number one, and their number two priority, but couldn't strike the rapidly moving child. Kipperin was too fast for them all. "See ya!" Loki called, soaring away.

The suits yelled their fury, following as fast as they could. "After her! It's the Lambert girl, and she has the ring!" Freelancer, remaining where he was, lowered his shield, and smiled. His Seeker was smart, and he knew that she was destined for great things.

Suddenly, the last Redcap sprang on his back, making the pair glow a nasty orange, and fall to the floor. The blue titan was unable to get up, pinned by his larger opponent.

The azure-eyed Lambert, from where she had flown in the cavernous heights of the ceiling, laughed with Cherit at the suits' stupidity. "They're a few letters short of a crossword, and no mistake." The girl mocked, eyes flashing. "They just kept on going! Why does no one these days think to look up? Kipperin and I managed to do the same thing for Defoe too. It seems all Organization folk are destined to be dumb." Blonde locks waved as the girl shook her head in disappointment.

Cherit nodded, and looped-de-looped for joy. In his flip, he saw his fellow titan's predicament. "Loki! Freelancer's in trouble!" The blonde and her winged companions span around, and headed for the ground at top speed. Before she hit the floor, Loki pulled out Kipperin's amulet, and called him back, hitting the ground running.

The young Seeker knew she was outta ammo. She had no more titans, and couldn't direct powers with enough accuracy to get the Redcap without hurting Freelancer. Grinning, an idea popped into her mind, and the teen knew exactly what to do. She let the helpless feeling at seeing her friend trapped, and being unable to rescue him fill her soul. Opening the eyes she had screwed tightly shut, the girl looked at her hands with amazed pride. They were glowing with her power! Blue-grey and just what she needed.

_"Yes! I can control it!" _Loki thought, twisting her hands to get a better look. A small, spiteful voice at the back of her mind told her that, yes, it was all well and good, summoning a power she couldn't direct! The blonde sighed, knowing the voice was right. She just hoped it would work.

Suddenly, the power shot from her hands, and engulfed the Redcap. The titan let go of Freelancer, and staggered away, clawing at its own throat in a vain attempt to destroy the power nestled all around it. Collapsing, it became a river of light, and the mist-power flickered, before vanishing. The light-river disappeared, obviously going back to its Seeker. The azure-eyed teen looked at herself with fear. The power she had just displayed had been ruthless, incredibly powerful, and completely without mercy when it came to protecting Loki's friends. How was she ever going to control this monstrous thing inside of her? The self-loathing and fear that Dante had managed to dispel in Venice came back in full force, and tears sprang to the girl's eyes.

What kind of monster was she?

Freelancer climbed shakily to his feet, fire-eyes bright with wonder. When he was standing tall, the blue being bowed low to the shocked girl before him. _Thou art a powerful Seeker, milady._ The titan's Bond-voice intoned, slipping back into the medieval speech of his youth, many millennia ago. _Never have I seen one with such power and ability._ He straightened up, and reached out his normal sized hand to his Seeker. Knowing what to do, seeing the memories in Freelancer's mind, the blonde clasped his fore-arm as the titan clasped hers, and the pair stood together, joined forever by the powerful bond of titan and Seeker, and the even stronger bond of friendship_. Nor have I seen one with such a kind, and noble heart. I am honoured to fight along side thee, Loki Lambert. _He disappeared back into his amulet, finally succumbing to the fatigue of fighting his captor. A single crystal tear fell from the cerulean orbs of his Seeker.

"And I you, brave Freelancer. I could not wish for a better titan at my back." Loki said, sincerity pouring from her very soul. Hearing voices, the girl span her head around, hair flaring out in a fan behind her, eyes quick and bright, staring through the darkness. Knowing her enemies were coming, she took off again, as fast and wild as a wolf, using a long-legged stride that ate up the ground, that she had seen hunters and Seekers of old use in Freelancer's thoughts. The teen didn't even notice she was doing it.

Cherit remained where he was, scared by what he had just seen.

The blonde had such tremendous power, and no idea how to use it! Not just the blue-grey mist, but in her bondage with titans. Cherit knew that a few minutes before Loki wouldn't have used that long-distance run, and he also knew exactly where she'd found that knowledge. Her powers and bonds were at least twice as powerful as a normal Seeker's, if not more so! In the little creature's knowledge, having abilities like that and not having control led to one great big disaster... He flew after his young friend, knowing Dante would need to hear about this.

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><p>A short distance away, though it probably would have seemed longer to someone walking the twisting pathway there, a quartet of suits was searching for the Huntik team. The newest recruit, a tall woman with a red bob and angular features quite similar to those of a certain blue-haired Foundation member strayed away, hearing a noise coming from a side-passage. She peered inside, and a hand snaked forwards, fast as lightening, to cover her mouth and pull her in. "Shhh." A female voice hissed, modifying itself to sound just like the trapped Organization suit.<p>

"Hey," One of the remaining suits yelped, looking around at the bone littered walls with fear. "Did you hear that? And where's our new recruit?" The girl they were talking about popped from around the corner.

"All clear." She waved a hand to call them over, and something glinted on her finger. The suits moved closer, purpose gleaming in their eyes.

"Is that the ring?" One said, earning a cuff around the head for giving them away.

"What?" The ginger pouted innocently. "This old thing?" Laughing, Zhalia Moon pulled off her wing to reveal her true identity, before turning and running off. The suits chased after her, leaving behind their hog-tied teammate. In the growing darkness, the true suit held no hope in her heart for escape, until a small, lizard titan bit through her ropes, then disappeared back to his amulet in a swirl of green.

The redhead rubbed her wrists cautiously. That Foundation agent had shown her mercy, but why? If they had been in each other's shoes, the suit would have left her for dead. The bigwigs in the Organization had told them the Foundation was a bunch a vicious barbarians, using their powers only for their own gain. They had said that they had no honour, no values or feelings except for greed. But what had happened here went against all that!

_"What if the Organization was wrong?"_ Thought the suit, uncertainly. Turning away, the woman began the long climb back to the light, in more ways than one, knowing that she would never serve the Organization again. And so the light beckoned another lost soul from the darkness.

* * *

><p>In another passageway, Will was avoiding the suits, and trying to keep hidden. It wasn't proving an easy task. As the latest batch of suits rounded the corner away from him, the Casterwill let out a tired sigh. "This isn't working. There are too many of them." He pushed off from the wall, staggering slightly, and set off down the corridor again. The darkness permeated ever nook and cranny of the ancient burial grounds, and the boy was forced to call forth a Boltflare to guide him. It was small, and weak, but the sight of the magical orb lifted its caster's spirit. "I'm still exhausted," The boy muttered, "But it's a start."<p>

The brunette and his light carried on, till they came to a ladder. Light, natural light, was streaming from the top. Grinning with relief, Will clambered up, but the smile faded when he saw it was just another underground chamber. From the number of lit torches, the boy could tell that the Organization had been there.

"I've got to move on." He murmured, knowing they might come back. The door he stumbled through led to a stair, but the stair went down, and stopped after a few steps! It was the entrance to a burial pit. As soon as Will stepped onto the stairs, he knew it was a bad idea, but before he could correct it, the stair gave way, sending its passenger screaming down into the darkness.

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><p>Defoe was furious. He'd gathered his troops, expecting to know where his prizes were, and instead had been fed a fable story.<p>

"I don't believe it. You must think I'm some sort of gullible simpleton, don't you?" The suits shook their heads, then hung them in shame and fear.

"No sir." A grey-haired senior mumbled, looking away from the burning eyes behind the glasses.

"And yet you expect me to believe that all of Dante Vale's team were spotted...separately?"

Another suit nodded. "Yes sir."

"I see." Defoe began to pace their ranks, enjoying the feeling of fear that rose from them. "And they all had the Ring of Arc?" When the suits muttered an affirmative, the lanky man shot out a hand to grab the nearest one's tie.

"You fools!" He roared, eyes blazing. "Not only did you fall prey to the Foundation's trap, but you failed to catch the Lambert child _again_! Your orders are to capture every member off that team!" With an effort, he calmed himself, and released his minion.

"More tricks." He murmured, stroking his chin. "On second thought, Dante Vale must have the ring. He cares about his teammates too much, so he won't have endangered the others. Inform Grier and the rest of you useless slime- your targets are Dante Vale and the Lambert child." One new recruit was brave enough to raise his hand.

"Why the Lambert?" He asked timidly.

Defoe snaked out a hand to strike the man, before tilting his head and explaining. "For the benefit of anyone else who has questions, she is the main priority. The Professor himself has taken an interest in her capture, and she can be used to bargain for the ring. Dante Vale is attached to those he works with- he would pay anything in exchange for her life!" The suits, dim-witted as they were, smiled in admiration at his plan.

"Now, go!" The smiles vanished, and the suits scattered throughout the Catacombs.

* * *

><p>Far below them all, Will was using the last of his meagre strength to hold onto a ledge in the pit. It was breaking, and so close to an edge, but the boy was unable to reach it. He swung back and forth, trying to get high enough to grab hold.<p>

"It's no use!" He muttered to himself, emerald eyes wide with fear. "I'm too tired! I can't hang on for much longer!" Just as the brunette grabbed the edge, the rock under his hands began to crumble.

"Dante! Loki! Anyone! Help!" He yelled, not caring about sounding weak. Staying alive was much more important.

* * *

><p>Not far away, Loki was padding silently through the tunnels, Cherit at her shoulder, her azure eyes darkened with sorrow. This place had seen so much death; it was impossible not to be affected by it. The blonde stopped, uttered a sharp gasp, and crouched to get a better look at the skeleton resting on the self beside her. What was there broke her heart. A child's body, so small it could only be five or so. Tears shone in the girl's eyes, and she bowed her head in sadness.<p>

Suddenly, a cry shattered the oppressive silence. The teen's head snapped up, and Cherit looked down from his high vantage point, the same fear in their eyes. The voice was Will, and he was in trouble! "Come on!" Loki cried, leaping to her feet, and racing to find her friend.

* * *

><p>Hearing scuffling sounds, Will looked up from where he was hanging. "Who's there?" He called, hoping the answer was a friendly one.<p>

"Will?" Came the reply, and familiar blue eyes peered over the edge of the burial pit. The Casterwill sighed with relief.

"Loki," He called, "I can't use any of my spells, or my titans! You have to help me!" The blonde pulled back from the edge, telling her trapped friend that she would help, and tried to make a plan.

"I used all my rope to hang those skeletons, and I can't summon Kipperin again..." The brunette's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Can you hu-" He broke off with a yell as the ledge he was holding fell away from the side, and he fell into the inky darkness of the pit.

"Will!" Loki rushed back to the edge, and leapt in after her friend, not thinking about her own safety. Being lighter than the boy, she fell faster, and reached for him, neither of them noticing a strand of blue-grey mist close the distance and grab his wrist, and reached a hand to grab a burial ledge. They hung there for a moment, gasping with fear and exhaustion, before the blonde heaved Will up next to her.

"Are you...trying...to get...yourself killed?" The boy panted, and the blonde shook her head.

"No, but I couldn't let you die either!" The girl looked about her, having not seen where she was before. "What is this place?" Silence followed whilst the jade-eyed lad got his breath back.

"It's a burial pit. People who couldn't afford a fancy funeral got tossed in here." To Will's surprise, Loki began to laugh.

"Well, I can afford a funeral, and I know that you can, Mister Rich, so let's get out of here!" She took Will's hand, and called "Hyperstride!" propelling them both to the top, where they lay sprawled.

"Phew!" Loki smiled, rolling onto her side to look at Will. "Too close!" Will didn't answer, his eyes fixed on a point beyond her. Feeling a shiver run down her spine, the blonde sat up and turned to see a multitude of suits gathered around them.

A sigh echoed around the chamber. It came from one kindly looking suit, with greying hair. "Look, there's no escape. Just give yourselves up."

"Guess I wasn't the only one who heard you." She muttered rebelliously to her friend. Will turned his head away, nose in the air.

"You shouldn't have come at all. My voice might have been part of an Organization trap." The blonde scoffed, and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"I knew it was you." She teased. Will stiffened, and turned back.

"How so?"

"Simple." The girl explained. "You called for Dante to help, then me, then anyone else. But never Zhalia." Will scowled, and began to sulk.

"Quit stalling!" One longhaired suit snarled, stepping closer. "Give us the Ring of Arc!" Giggling, Loki shared a look with Will, who stopped sulking and grinned too.

"Is that all?" The azure-eyed teen asked innocently. "Sure, here you go." She flipped the ring to them, and a suit caught it with an amazed look on his face.

Will dug around in his pocket and pulled out his own copy. "Here, take mine too." One suit crept over, and snatched it before rushing back to his fellows.

The suits stared at them with open mouths, glancing back and forth between the rings in their hands and the teens, then the leader with the grey hair stepped forwards, eyes suspicious. "These are fakes. You'd never give them over if they were real."

Will rolled his emerald eyes. "Oh, you're too smart for us." The suits gave each other feral grins, and the leader stepped forwards.

"We anticipated this." He told them confidently. "Men, get them. Then we'll go after the others." The Organization men began to advance, snarling like wolves.

Will's eyes flashed dangerously. "Stand back, or you'll feel the fury of my wrath!" For once, Loki didn't laugh at his pompous tone.

"Guys," She warned. "He's a Casterwill. You so don't wanna to go there." Will put his hands on his hips and looked smug.

The suits stopped, a single idea lighting up their eyes. "Casterwill?" One muttered. "If he's the Casterwill, then she's..." The leader smiled.

"Loki Lambert. Get them, and take the girl." The suits advanced. Will moved Loki behind him, but the girl snorted and stood beside him. The boy looked ready to protest, but a look from her azure eyes shut his mouth and he nodded. They stood side by side, as equals, friends, and maybe more, facing down a battle they knew they couldn't win.

The suits laughed, and sent a volley of Raypulses to batter their opponents. Loki cast a Honourguard, desperation lending her strength, but it soon broke under the weight of the attacks against it. The teens were sent flying by the powers of their enemies. Will hit a wall at an angle, catching his head with a sickening _crack_. He fell to the floor, Loki screaming his name as she crawled to reach him, but he didn't move. Blood pooled under his head, and he looked pale- too pale.

The suits laughed, and marched forwards to collect their prey.

Tired after her long, exhausting day, the blonde felt the remains of her strength stir in the depths of her soul. The mist power was awakening again, and Loki was powerless to stop it. She wanted to help Will, but knew doing so would mean rendering herself defenceless. Looking at Will's motionless form, the teen knew that she didn't care, as long as he was okay. "Go." She whispered, then gasped as light flowed from her heart to form a wall around her and Will. The Organization snarled, and sent powers to break it, but it just absorbed the Raypulses and Augerfrosts. With each hit, the girl behind the shield could feel it weaken, and knew it wouldn't last much longer. It seemed the power knew that too, as it diverted a stream of light from the river flowing from Loki's chest to Will, gathering around his head and chest. The glowing human smiled, and knew that he would be okay.

Five more Raypulses smashed into the shield at once, and Loki felt it break. The girl collapsed, drained just as Will had been earlier. The suits moved forwards to collect their prey, picking up the azure-eyed teen and leaving the Casterwill for dead. They moved off, their dark and chilling laughter echoing around the chamber.

Emerald eyes cracked open, dull and bleary, just as they were leaving. "Loki?" But his voice was a whisper, heard by none. The last thing Will saw before the blackness overwhelmed him was Loki, hanging limply from the arms of the grey-haired suit, her skin glimmering faintly in the dark.

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><p>AN: Ah ha! Didn't expect THAT now did ya? Muwahahahahahaha *evil grin*<p> 


	19. Chapter 18 Divide and Conquer Part 3

AN: This is officially my longest chapter yet. Enjoy it!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 18- Divide and Conquer Part 3

Grier smiled, moving his gloved hand away from his earpiece. Wonderful news. The Lambert girl had been captured. Suddenly, a voice rang out behind him.

"Grier. I've been looking forward to some quality time with you." It was russet-haired Dante, a cheeky grin on his face. The golden-eyed man flipped a blue amulet like a coin, catching it on the top of his hand, and passed a hand over it. "Come on out, Caliban." The Aztec warrior appeared, sword held ready.

The blonde reached for the bear-head amulet at his throat. "Assault, Breaker." The huge, four-armed bear leapt from his amulet, snarling and foaming at the mouth.

The two titans attacked each other with vigour, but Caliban knocked his opponent to the floor with two moves, and moved to attack Grier. The military man moved back, a new amulet in his hands.

"Too slow." He rumbled, summoning a Redcap to his side. The long-clawed creature jumped at the blue warrior, sending them both skidding along the floor. Dante smiled, and held a small, grey and blue shield pendant above his head.

"Let's even the odds- Freelancer!" The armoured titan, the mirror of Loki's, appeared in a flash a peach-coloured light. He immediately set about attacking Breaker, who had recovered from his clash with Caliban. Satisfied that the titan fights were going well, Dante lashed a fist at Grier, catching the unsuspecting man in the face. The blonde swung a punch in turn, but the auburn leapt over it, landing a few meters away.

He straightened up, still smiling. "Grier, I get the feeling there's more to you. Something that you're hiding from me?" The Seeker teased, a smirk playing on his angular features. Grier snarled, not liking his tone.

"So says the man who is hiding something from everybody!" The minion charged his enemy, fist glowing blue, green and yellow. "Dragonfist!" Dante laughed, jumping over the attack again. Grier growled as he left a smoking hole in the wall, and not in the Foundation agent.

"Come and get me!" The Huntik operative taunted, landing on the ceiling, a purple power keeping him there. He let it go as Breaker, who had disposed of Freelancer, and Grier approached, dropping lightly to the ground "Strong power. Not bad for a bruiser." The four-armed bear came too close, and Dante collapsed the roof on it with a carefully placed Raypulse.

"You're focused today. Is it because we don't have an audience?" Amber eyes flashed mockingly, waiting for the blonde to lash out in anger, but the attack never came.

"No." Grier said simply, a cruel smile on his face. "It's because I know something you don't, and I know it means we've won this little game of yours, Dante Vale."

Dante tilted his head, curious. "And what is that?" Before answering, Grier laughed, and the sound was filled with malice.

"Didn't you know?" Now it was the Organization man's turn to smirk. "We have the Lambert girl, Dante Vale. And we aren't letting her go, not without payment." A scream, high and familiar, echoed down the corridor. Loki.

Dante stumbled, face ashen, eyes flickering to where the scream had come from. "What?" He whispered, before a fist smashed into his cheek, sending him flying. He landed with an "Ooooof" and a little, silver ring rolled from his pocket.

Shaking his head in mock disappointment, Grier crouched down and pick up the ring. "Now, you could have traded this for your little friend." At the look in Dante's eyes, the blue-green eyes of the military man hardened. He bit into the ring, and it crumbled. The blonde sighed. "Another fake. Now there's only one person left who can have the ring." Leaving his stunned opponent, Grier contacted his team, and gave them his orders.

When the blonde disappeared down a corridor, Dante clambered unsteadily to his feet, and started down one of the various corridors. He had to get to Zhalia first, or Loki would pay the price!

* * *

><p>A short while away, the last member of the Huntik team was racing down a passage, her blue hair streaming behind her. "There's an exit up there!" Zhalia muttered to herself, pushing herself faster. She skidded to a halt, three suits blocking her path.<p>

"Not so fast, Foundation scum. We know who you are." The coffee-eyed woman laughed.

"Oh, I doubt that!" The suits snarled, and shot a trio of Raypulses at her, but Zhalia yelled out "Shadowspeed!" glowed a dark purple, like ripe blackberries, and dashed out of the way, the speed-enhancement spell allowing her to move faster than the eye could follow. She stopped behind one suit, and knocked him unconscious, setting him down gently. Straightening, the blue-haired agent leapt into the air again.

"Smash her, Redca-" The second suit was knocked out before she could finish the summons by a boot to the face. The last suit faced his superior opponent, but refused to back down.

"Put 'em up!" He yelled, trying to mask his fear with bravado. Zhalia did so, but muttered a quick, dark red spell to help her.

"Mindsight!" The power flowed from her eyes to the man's head, and she dropped her hands, standing casually. The man lashed out, but the woman moved out the way, laughing. He tried again with the same result. "I know when you're going to punch before you do!" The mocha-orbed woman explained, a smirk gracing her full lips. The man tried one last time, and earned a kick to the chest for his efforts. He landed with a thump, and gaped at the lady before him.

"Those powers! You must be..." Zhalia laughed, and turned back from where he was walking away.

"Who cares? You won't remember anyway. Simplemind!" Her eyes glowed blood red, and so did the suits, and the man fell back, unconscious. The indigo-haired agent smiled, and ran towards her goal.

Suddenly, a Raypulse streaked past her cheek. "Huh?" The woman turned, a frown marring her delicate features. "What!" Behind her, Defoe, two suits and a couple of Redcaps were gathered, each one a deadly obstacle from the surface.

"What a shame, Zhalia Moon." Defoe crooned, "You were so close, too bad." Zhalia snarled, and raised her fists.

"Come on then, but whilst you're wasting time with me, Dante is escaping with the ring!" For a moment, the Organization group just stared, before their lanky leader began to laugh.

"Oh, how clever! But, I know you have the real Ring of Arc! You see, we've already captured the other three fakes." Coffee-coloured eyes rolled, and their owner sighed and folded her arms.

"Can't those idiots do anything right?" The Huntik agent huffed irritably. Defoe gave a feral grin, then ordered his men to destroy her. Zhalia leapt up and away, avoiding the first volley of Raypulses.

* * *

><p>Not too far away, Will woke up, emerald eyes filled with confusion. Where was he? What had happened? He sat up slowly, and noticed Cherit sitting by his side, but no Loki. Gasping more from emotional pain than physical, the boy remembered what had happened before he'd been knocked out. Cherit looked up from where he was watching the doors to the chamber, and smiled shakily.<p>

"Aye, it's a good thing to see that one of you is alright." The titan murmured, obviously worrying about Loki. Will lifted a shaking hand to his head, and whimpered when it came away covered in blood, but then frowned, and put it to his head again. There was no wound, not a single scratch, nor any pain, and yet he'd felt the burning feeling when he'd hit the wall. Thinking back over what had happened, the Casterwill vaguely remembered a strange, blue power washing over him, but he'd not noticed it in the heat of the battle. Realizing something, and linking it with many other things, Will asked the titan an important question.

"Loki sacrificed herself for me, didn't she?" The white creature on the floor paused, and thought carefully before answering.

"Aye, in a sense she did. She used the last of her power to protect and heal you, and the suits took her away." Will bowed his head, jade eyes glistening with tears, and sighed. The pair sat like that a while before the brunette got up the courage to ask what he felt he needed to know more than anything else.

"Is she dead?" Cherit shook his head immediately.

"No. They needed her, so some reason or another. She'll not be dead, lad, don't fret." The white creature decided not to mention the screams that had rung throughout the corridors of the Catacombs not long after the blonde had been taken. The boy nodded, then climbed to his feet.

"We don't have much time. We have to get to Dante, and help him- we only have five minutes left! Then," His green eyes grew hard as emeralds. "We go after Loki."

* * *

><p>Back with the fight, Zhalia was getting beaten, hard. Diving to avoid another power-strike, she pulled a spiked amulet from her thigh-pouch. "Fight for your lady, Kilthane!" The black knight materialized in a flash of orange light, and set to against his many enemies. The suits raised the odds in their favour again by summoning two Redcaps and a Jokoul, their previous Redcaps defeated by the blue-haired Seeker a while back.<p>

"I know your type, Defoe." Zhalia taunted, her voice soft and lilting. "You've had an easy life, isn't that true?" Defoe ordered his men to surround her with a snap of his fingers. The woman went on. "Because of that, you think you're better than everybody else, and you think you have the right to lead them!"

The worded barbs pierced Defoe's mental armour, and he pointed a quivering finger at Kilthane. "Let him have it!" He roared, sending a Raypulse to batter the black knight's shield. His minions followed suit, but none could break through. Hearing a whirring behind her, Zhalia span on a heel, already pulling a wasp-shaped amulet from her thigh-pouch. "Impale them, Strix." The three, giant wasp titans flew from her pendant, then separated. Two went through the eyes of the pair of Mindrones behind Zhalia, destroying them and sending them back to their amulets in twin streams of light.

The last went after Defoe, eyes blazing and stinger gleaming. "Assist me!" It's target cried. The suits' Jokoul leapt in front of his master, and was swiftly defeated by a Strix through the chest. The Redcaps screeched their displeasure, and advanced on their blue-haired target. With a yell, Zhalia jumped back, and Kilthane put his shield between the flailing claws and his mistress. He swung his jagged sword, pushing back the two longhaired creatures, but they soon got back up. Kreutalk, all but forgotten in the shadows, spat a stream of acid at the armoured titan, making him stagger to one knee, leaning heavily on his sword.

"Is that it, Miss Moon?" The greasy haired man taunted, eyes glowing with triumph. "No more subterfuge?"

Suddenly, a Redcap went down, Caliban's sword through his back. As the dust cleared, Dante padded forwards into the room, the Aztec by his side. "That's a big word for such a small minded man." The auburn snapped, his eyes molten gold, anger toiling in their depths. His shoulders were tight with fury, and his fists were clenched. Zhalia's coffee eyes widened in surprise, looking between the two men. Something had happened, something bad.

The tension in the room making the woman nervous, she raised a hand to rub the back of her neck. "Dante," she greeted as he reached her side. "I tried to keep them busy." Defoe looked between his two enemies, snarling furiously.

"What is the meaning of this?" He yelled, both confused and angry. Dante snapped his head up to glare at the smaller man, eyes cold.

"I'll be the one to ask the questions here, Defoe."

* * *

><p>A few seconds away, Will and Cherit were running to make it in time. "Only two minutes left!" The boy panted.<p>

* * *

><p>Defoe tilted his head to the side, then gave a satisfied smirk. "I see. You've heard my news then, Dante Vale. It would seem we each have what the other wants." Zhalia looked at the mahogany-haired Seeker in confusion. What could Defoe possibly mean?<p>

Footsteps echoed down the corridor behind the blue-haired agent, and everyone turned slightly to see who was coming. If it was a suit, it could spell the end for the Huntik team. First, a little white titan flew down the passage, wings beating furiously, and he was closely followed by a young brunette. It was Cherit, with Will in tow.

As the boy got closer, Zhalia gasped, and Dante's fists curled, if it was possible, even tighter. With his too pale skin, bruised and battered face, and the blood that coated his cheek and hair, the boy looked like he was about to collapse. It was obvious that his time in the Catacombs had not been a pleasant one.

"Dante!" Will gasped when he reached his teammates. "They have Loki!" Zhalia's eyes narrowed, and she turned to glare at Defoe, now knowing why Dante was so upset. The girl was like a sister, no, a daughter to him, and the mocha-orbed operative knew he'd do anything to get her back.

The russet-haired man bowed his head. "I know." He said simply, then faced Defoe again. "But we'll get her back." Cherit landed on Dante's shoulder, and warned him not to be rash. The man replied that he didn't plan on it.

Defoe gave a victorious smile. "Now, give me the ring, and I might give her back. I hold all the cards here, Dante Vale." The golden-eyed man shook his head.

"Not quite. You see, the real Ring of Arc was delivered to a Huntik safe-house ten minutes ago."

The lanky man growled, and took a step forwards. "No! That's impossible." A smirk played across his rival's face.

"Actually, it was quite easy. After we split up, Zhalia's Gareon took the real ring and slipped through your defences. You see," Here he paused, and the smirk deepened. "Gareon has the ability to turn invisible for short periods of time. Combined with our diversion, that allowed him to escape to the surface, and reach a Foundation safe-house in plenty of time."

Defoe gaped. "But that means..." Dante butted in.

"You lost before you even knew it." Cherit shrugged, quite used to Dante's brilliant schemes and mind games.

"That's the Dante Vale touch." Thinking over it, the only one the little titan could think of that could match Dante for cunning was...Loki. The white creature stopped smiling.

Defoe stopped snarling, and instead began to smile. "If I can't have the ring, then I guess I'll just have to keep your little friend." Will stiffened, and glared at the Organization man, knowing exactly whom he was talking about. Dante bared his teeth in a predator's grin.

"Defoe, there's another interesting consequence of my strategy that I planned just for you, before you took Loki." The usually easy-going amber eyes darkened dangerously. "Now I'm going to enjoy it just that little bit more."

Defoe began to look scared. "Oh, and what would that be?" He asked, a slight tremor in his voice. The russet-haired Seeker began to advance, Caliban at his side, and Zhalia and Will following close behind.

"Your forces are spread through-out the Catacombs, while mine are right here." The two suits with the lanky man yelped in terror, and fled. Defoe made to follow them, but at a gesture from Dante was stopped by Caliban. As the manta-ray-like Kreutalk went to help his master, Zhalia shot him from the air, and he disappeared back to his amulet.

"Where is she?"

* * *

><p>With a sword to his throat, and back, Defoe was quick to comply. He lead them through twisting passages, constantly tried to lose them, and eventually took them to a dark, out of the way, cavern. The torches along the wall had burnt out recently; smoke drifted on the dank air, and nothing could be seen. Telling Zhalia and Will to stay with Defoe, Dante called forth a Boltflare, recalled Caliban to conserve his power, and padded carefully inside.<p>

So busy rushing in, Dante didn't notice the two bodies at his feet before he tripped over them. Turning slowly, the russet-haired Seeker was stunned. The two men at his feet had obviously been Loki's guards, and from what it looked like, their prisoner had fought back. A bruise had flowered on the cheek of one, but the other one look untouched. A grim smile flickered on the Foundation Seeker's face- he could guess where Loki had got that one.

Gold eyes narrowed as Dante realized that a punch in the face and a knee between the legs wasn't enough to knock someone out. And if Loki had done that, where was she now? Wouldn't she have made her way back to the team, just as Will had done? Dante scanned the floor around the suits again, and his eyes fell upon a mangled piece of metal, so twisted and misshapen it was almost unrecognisable. Handcuffs.

Looking back over the room, the auburn's experience eyes could slot together what had happened. The suits had tried to play with Loki, mess her about a bit, probably enjoying the sense of power having a defenceless prisoner gave them. Dante's blood boiled at the thought of someone, anyone, hurting the blonde. He hadn't even known her a month, and yet the girl was already close to his heart. She was more than a friend to the russet-haired man; she was like a daughter, and he didn't know what he would do if she were hurt.

The blonde had fought back, giving the two the injuries that Dante had spotted earlier. Then, something had mangled the shackles in their hands, and slammed the two against the wall, knocking them out. But what was it, and where was Loki now? A gasp from the doorway made him look up, and seeing Will's tortured gaze, he span around.

The azure-eyed teen was in the corner of the room, her hair matted with blood, clothes ripped, and bruises showing through the tattered material. Her breathing was faint, and ragged, catching in her throat with each tortured sigh. Dante ran over, eyes filling with tears, fearing the worst. He hesitated before scooping her up, trying to find places where he wouldn't hurt her.

Seeing her up close was much worse. As the heart-broken man lifted the teen from the floor, she winced, breath hissing past her teeth in an agonized gasp. The russet-haired mentor paused, scanning her over again. He grimaced as he noticed the cracked rib, and felt his anger rise at her condition. Cradling Loki to his chest, Dante walked back to the group as if he was carrying the most precious thing in the universe. Perhaps, to him, the girl in his arms was.

When Dante reached the team, all hell broke loose. Cherit started crying, thinking she was dead, and Will went even whiter than before, guilt raging in his eyes. Zhalia span on a heel, murder in her coffee orbs, and Defoe shrank back from her fury. Realizing he wasn't restrained in anyway, the man ran for it.

The blue-haired woman lifted a hand, a Raypulse already glowing between her fingers, but stopped at a word from Dante. "Let him go. We have more important things to worry about." Zhalia sighed, and bowed her head, turning back. The group began the slow climb back to the surface, Will holding Loki's hand the whole way.

* * *

><p>An hour or so later, the team- minus Loki- were in the safe house where Gareon had taken the ring. It largely resembled a library, and was full of armchairs and books. Zhalia and Will were pacing on opposite sides of the room, both cleaned up, identical worry on their faces, whilst Dante was talking to the Huntik member who had taken the ring. Cherit was hovering amongst the shelves, desperately trying to keep himself busy.<p>

"I take it you got my message." The russet-haired Seeker asked, gold eyes grave. The operative- a skinny young man with a mop of unruly scarlet hair, and glasses- nodded.

"Yes, I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but I prepared the reliquary right away, and it seems to be holding." The confused agent opened the lid of the large iron box on the table beside him, and revealed the Ring of Arc gleaming on a cushion inside. It had reverted back to the ugly green glow of the curse, Will's seal having broken ages ago.

Zhalia padded over, Gareon in her arms. "Fine, but can you tell what it is? An amulet maybe?" The ginger shook his head.

"I don't think it's one of the legendary titans, if that's what you mean. I'm guessing its just an ordinary cursed ring." Dante shook his head, eyeing the ring with distrust.

"With that strong of a curse, not even an elite Seeker could sense a titan inside." The safe-house owner nodded, and folded his arms.

"Okay, I'll request our top experts from the Huntik Council, and we'll figure it out, alright." The amber-orbed man inclined his head.

"Till then, don't let the ring leave here." Suddenly, a faint buzzing echoed around the room. Blushing, the russet-haired pulled a mobile from his pocket and, answering, walked over to the far end of the hall.

"Hello, Dante Vale speaking. Oh, good, I was wondering when you'd call." For a while, all that could be heard was _"Uh-hmmm" _and_ "Uh-huh". _It was obvious that the person on the other line had a lot to say. Finally, the golden-eyed man spoke again. "That's great news, thank you. I'll be there soon." He hung up, finishing the call, and turned to face his teammates.

"That was the hospital. The doctors say that Loki's going to be fine, and that it's okay to visit her now." Will gave a huge sigh, and flopped onto one of the many armchairs. Zhalia relaxed visibly, and a faint smile graced her lips. She called her green titan back to his amulet, and walked over to the door.

"Cherit, get in your bag. I think the hospital has a 'no pets' policy." The team grinned, and gathered their things.

* * *

><p>About half an hour later, the group stood hesitantly at the door to Loki's hospital room. The young teen was sitting up in bed, looking out the window across the city. She'd been given the change of clothes that Dante had left with the nurse, and had her back to the group. She was wearing a light blue, gossamer shirt, and her hair had been tied in a knot at the base of her neck, so the doctors could treat her without it getting in the way. She looked so much more vulnerable than before, more fragile. Looking back, Dante realized that choosing a shirt that did nothing to hide her wounds was a bad idea.<p>

Cherit popped his head out of his bag, wondering what was taking so long, and at the sound of the zipper, the blonde span around. Seeing her friends at the door, she smiled, eyes lighting up. The smile was welcoming, and the team relaxed. Will was the first to walk in, emerald eyes full of guilt, and a few tears.

"I'm sorry Loki." He murmured, sitting on the visitor's chair. Azure eyes frowned, confused, before clearing, their owner pulling the brunette into a hug.

"Don't be. It's not your fault- none of this is, or was, or whatever." The teens broke apart, and the blonde looked over to the door, cobalt eyes gentle. "And not yours either, Dante." The russet-haired Seeker felt a weight he hadn't noticed till it had gone lift from his shoulders. He smiled, and padded into the room, Zhalia following and closing the door. The auburn stood at the end of the bed whilst the blue-haired Seeker behind him sat on the edge of the bed, and Cherit clambered out his bag after Dante gave the all clear.

"It's good to see you, lass." He croaked, flying over to give her a hug. Loki smiled, and hugged each of her friends one by one.

Dante was last to get a hug, and gave the teen a rueful glare as he pulled back. "Now, this seems familiar. Didn't I mention something about nerves and you getting hurt last time?" The team shared a laugh, and the azure-eyed teen blushed. When the laughed died down, the girl gave them all a serious look.

"Fill me in. How did the mission go, and," She paused, biting her lip. "What actually happened to me? I can't remember much..."

Will bowed his head, and the golden-eyed man standing next to him put a hand on his shoulder, starting the story. "We got the ring to the safe house in time. In truth, I had Gareon take it after we split up. It got there ten minutes before the seal broke."

With a sigh of relief, the blonde leant back on her pillows. "That's good news, and a clever plan. I'm guessing you didn't tell us encase the Organization got one of us." The Casterwill boy looked away, and muttered something under his breath. Loki frowned, not quite hearing.

"What?" Will glanced at her, then carried on looking at the floor.

"The Organization did get one of us." A tear trailed down his cheek and fell to the floor. "They got _you_, Loki." The blonde nodded, and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

"I know. I remember that bit. It's the parts after that that are a bit fuzzy." She told them, eyes far away. "I was walking through a passageway when I heard yelling." The girl told them what had happened, right up to when her Honourguard had failed, then she paused, frowning.

Cherit tilted his head to one side, confused at the girl's silence. "What's wrong, lass?" The 16-yr-old said the next bit slowly, looking at her emerald-eyed friend in bewilderment.

"Will got hurt too. He got hit by a Raypulse same as I was, and he hit a wall at a bad angle. I remember that- something _cracked_...He wasn't moving, and there was blood everywhere. And yet, he's fine now. I can't remember anything else." The white titan sitting on the bed sighed, and realised he was going to have to tell the girl what had happened.

"I was there too, my girl. If you want, I can tell you what happened." The team all nodded, wondering why the titan would be reluctant to tell.

"Well, Will was hurt badly, and you were too tired to summon any titans, so you used the only thing left to you at the time. You used your power." When Loki and Dante "ohhh"ed in understanding, the two members of the team who were still in the dark shot frustrated glares at the little titan.

The russet-haired Seeker standing at the foot of the bed explained. "Do you guys remember when I got hit with Defoe's attack in Prague?" They nodded. "And Will, do you remember when you were cornered by that suit in the library?" The brunette nodded again. "And you've both seen the intact page in Eathon's journal?" Another set of frustrated nods. Dante moved to stand next to Loki, and put a hand on her shoulder

"Well, Loki's been helping us all along. In Prague, she sent this power to help me when I was down. In the library she made a shield around Will, and when the book went in the water in Venice, the one thing she was thinking about was the page with her father's signature on it, and how she needed to keep it safe. It's kind of hard to explain what it is, because it changes to suit the situation." Dante ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of some way to make them understand. The blonde teen in the bed gave a sad sigh, and put a hand on his arm.

"I think a demonstration would be best." Then she held a hand out in front of her, palm facing the ceiling, and focused on the need for her friends to understand. At first, nothing happened, and then the strange blue-grey power lifted from her skin, gathering in her palm as a glowing sphere. Zhalia looked between the ball of light, and the girl holding it, eyes wide with amazement. Will just looked at the power, racking his brain for what it was.

"I've never seen a power like this!" He said at last, coming up blank. "Not only is it a rare colour, but the form and feel of it is different too!" The Casterwill went to poke the ball, but Loki dispersed the power, a frown on her face.

"Don't. I don't have much control over it- I only learnt to make it appear today, in the Catacombs." Cherit nodded, and flew to sit on the frame of the bed.

"You relax, lass, I'll tell them outside. We'll come back later, but for now, you need to sleep." The girl made to protest, but her teammates firmly agreed with the little titan. They got up to leave, and Dante told the teen he'd be back later, regardless of whether she was awake or not, and that he'd stay till she woke up. Loki sighed, and conceded.

"Fine, but you'd better come back, or I'll Raypulse you into next week when I get out!" Laughing, the team made their way back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>Once there, Cherit told them about the wall of power that Loki had made, and the way she had healed William. He'd seen the way the mist-power had helped the blonde in the burial pit, and he told them of that too, as a way to show them how, even now, she couldn't control when or how it appeared. He decided not to tell them all about the way she'd rescued Freelancer, and instead told Dante just before he left to go back to the hospital.<p>

On the journey there, the russet-haired Seeker pieced together what had happened to the suits guarding Loki, and vowed to help the blonde learn to control the incredible power she seemed to possess.

* * *

><p><em>A cave, the flickering fire of the torches on the wall making harsh shadows dance on the walls. A bone protrudes from the wall, glistening white. <em>

_The Catacombs, she was back in the Catacombs. _

_She runs, knowing she has to get away. She hears a voice, calling, begging her to help, and though she wants to escape, she knows she must help this voice. It is Will, yelling from the pit. _

_She goes to him, and again she jumps in after him, and pulls them both to safety. Again she faces the suits, and is beaten back. _

_This time, she remembers. _

_She remembers the wall of blinding light, healing her broken friend, and being taken away. She remembers the pain, waking up to a slap around the face, looking up with scared eyes at the cruel faces of her captors. She can feel the blood dripping from the wound on her head, one she didn't have before she woke up, and knows what is going to happen next._

_Once more the suits decide to have some fun, pushing her around, hitting her, punching her, kicking and shouting. Again she feels the murderous rage, again she strikes out, one to the face, the other between the legs. And again, they come for her with shackles, come to bind her and take her away, to a place she knows she can't escape from, to him, The Professor. _

_And now, a change. Instead of staying herself, she splits. Suddenly, she is looking on from outside herself, and the Other-Her stands up, eyes cold and blazing with light. She watches with horror as the Other-Her raises a hand, blasting the men into the wall. They get up, and Other-Her blasts them again, and again, till they stop moving. The Other-Her smiles, and her mouth is full of sharp, pointed teeth, and the teeth are covered in blood. _

_The memory dissolves into nightmare, the same one she has had since her father disappeared. Dreams of darkness, of faces lost and people long gone, but this time, their blood drips from her hands._

_She knows that she didn't do this, that she only hit them once, but she knows that she just as easily could have killed them, destroyed them as she did the Redcap._

_She is not a monster- but she knows that she can just as easily become a killer._

_Then, the nightmare changes yet again. Something else is there, slithering around her mind, searching for something, but even the thing doesn't know what. Realising what it needs isn't there, it takes her throat in its hands, tightening, choking her, strangling her. She gasps, needing air, _she has to breathe_!_

_The thing speaks, it's voice cold. It sounds male, and old, and evil. _

**_"Try and wake up all you want. The nightmare is never over!"_**

* * *

><p>As he had promised, Dante remained at the hospital with Loki. He knew that she needed him to stay with her, to hold her hand and tell her it would be okay. After his talk with Cherit before he left, the russet-haired Seeker knew the blonde teen would be terrified of herself, of this power of hers. The way she had reacted to Will trying to touch it had been enough to confirm that.<p>

It was a peaceful night, and Dante slept in the visitor's chair in fits and starts, wanting to be awake when the teen finally opened her eyes again. As the night wore on, it got warmer, it being in the middle of summer in France after all, so the golden-eyed man opened a window, then walked back to his seat. A cool breeze filled the room, and the man sighed, thinking back over the past few weeks. He'd changed a lot, and gained so much. In Will and Zhalia, he had found friends. True, he'd always had friends, but these two had become closer than that, there just wasn't a word for it. And then, in the blonde teen beside him he'd found a daughter, a thing he'd never have thought possible.

Lost in his thoughts, it took a while for Dante to notice that Loki was whimpering. He moved closer, taking her small hand in his larger ones, knowing that after what she'd been through, the girl had more than enough memories to make nightmares of. After a moment, Loki calmed again, and the auburn relaxed. He leant back, closing his eyes, still holding her hand. A while passed, filled only with the steady breathing of the pair.

Suddenly, Loki gasped, eyes flying open. Dante opened his own eyes to look at her, expecting to see the kind blue eyes of his friend, but instead he met a pair of red, no pupil or iris, just never-ending red. The teen was choking, clawing at the covers, her chest heaving as she tried to draw in breath. The russet-haired Seeker was up in an instant, chair falling over in his haste. He looked the blonde over, trying to see what was wrong, and his eyes landed on a dark crimson magic that was settled around the girl's neck. The magic was hand-shaped, and ever tightening.

With a roar, the golden-eyed man pulled at the hands, his own glowing with a Dragonfist, and they disappeared. As they did so, a sound like a bellow of pain echoed through the room. The red cleared from Loki's eyes, leaving them blue, as they should be.

The terrified teen flung her arms around Dante's neck, sobbing, and the man pulled her close, whispering meaningless comforts. A night nurse, bored and disinterested, poked her head around the door.

"Anything the matter?" She muttered, obviously not bothered about the answer. Dante just mouthed "Nightmare." and she nodded, moving on.

* * *

><p>"What's wrong?" The auburn asked when Loki had calmed down. The teen said nothing for a while, just sat on the bed with her knees tucked under her chin, and her arms wrapped around her legs.<p>

"I remember." She said, and the amber-orbed Seeker knew what she meant instantly. He made to say something, but Loki pressed on. "I was back in the Catacombs, reliving it, but this time, it was different. Instead of knocking out the suits..." She trailed off, gathering her strength before uttering three words that had obviously shaken the teen. "I killed them." Dante was quick to reply.

"It was a dream. I know you, Loki. I know you'd never hurt anyone, not like that. You are a kind-hearted girl, and you know the difference between wrong and right. What's more, you try your best to do what's right. That's something even I find difficult sometimes." The girl gave a bitter laugh, and looked away.

"Yeah, right." She scoffed, eyes dark with pain. Dante put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's true. I wanted to kill Defoe for what he did to you today. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I had to get you to safety." Loki looked at him slowly, eyes bright with tears.

"Really?"

"Honestly." The blonde gave a weak smile, and Dante returned it full force, his warm eyes making the girl's smile strengthen. The auburn decided to ask the question that was bothering him the most.

"Did anything else happen?" He began, not wanting to scare her. The azure eyes of his companion steeled, and she nodded.

"Something was there- that part wasn't a dream, I know that. It was human, I think, but there was something else behind it, powering it. It was a man. He tried to kill me." Loki turned to face her mentor, expecting him to say she was crazy. She was surprised when he bowed his head.

"It wasn't just in your head. There was a dark power around you. Think, did the man say or do anything strange?" The teen laughed.

"You mean apart from trying to kill me?" She thought for a moment, the dream surfacing slowly. "He was searching for something, but he didn't know what it was, just that it wasn't there. And he said something...What was it?" The girl fell silent for a moment, then answered her own question.

"Try and wake up all you want. The nightmare is never over." Dante bowed his head, puzzling over the strange force that wanted something that it thought Loki had. He stood up, and stretched.

"We'll figure it out, don't worry. " He headed towards the door, calling back over his shoulder for the blonde to gather her things, and that he'd was going to get the nurse to let him take her home. She smiled, cobalt eyes lighting up, and set to, glad to be getting back to normalcy.

* * *

><p>The next day they flew home, and in the midst of training and her new hectic life-style, the girl forgot all about the strange force that had tried to kill her that night in the Parisian hospital. But Dante never forgot. Sometimes, after a long night of work, when everyone else had gone to sleep hours before the russet-haired Seeker climbed the stairs, he'd peek into the blonde's room, just to reassure himself she was okay.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Who was that mysterious force? What did he want with Loki? And what am I going to subject my poor characters to next? All (well, some) shall be revealed in the next chapter!<p> 


	20. Chapter 19 The Legacy of Thor

AN: Sorry it's late- I wasn't very well this week!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 19- The Legacy Of Thor Part 1

A week passed, with Will and Loki training together everyday. Dante would often look on with amusement from the sidelines as the two duelled. He was proud how far the both of them had come, and had also gained a valuable insight into the way the pair fought. Loki was flighty, changing her attack style by the second, and able to adapt well, whereas Will was the type to make a plan and stick to it. The two balanced each other perfectly- the blue-eyed girl using small, unnoticeable hits to wear down her opponents, and the brunette wielding powerful attacks to batter his rivals. The blonde learned quickly, but was still finding it hard to control and direct her powers. The Casterwill boy had taken it upon himself to tutor her, and had decided to start with Boltflare, the simplest of powers.

Loki had turned the whole thing into one big game, with her flinging the most powerful lights as she could muster at her friend, whilst Cherit cheered her on. The look of determination on the teens' faces was topped only by the laughter that sparkled in their eyes. Though Will would never admit it, teaching the blonde was the best fun he'd had in ages.

"One more go!" Reading the ancient scroll that her 'teacher' had given her to learn the spell off; the flaxen-haired girl gave an excited grin. "I think I'm getting the hang of it!" The emerald-eyed lad across Dante's sitting room smiled too, and gave a thumbs-up.

"Ready to light up my life?" He teased, eyes dancing with mirth. His partner nodded, and placed the scroll carefully on the coffee table.

"Okay, I'll give it my best shot, with Boltflare!" A twisting ball of golden energy flew from the blonde's outstretched hand, her largest yet. For a moment, Will look surprised, before raising an arm to protect himself.

"Honourguard!" The shimmering pink and gold light-shield rippled into being in front of the boy, catching the attack. The ball of energy spread across the surface of the brunette's defence for a second, then blinked out of existence. Shaking his head in laughter, the Casterwill dropped his shield.

"Your aim's improving, but its still a bit weak if you ask me." Loki scoffed, folding her arms and putting her nose in the air.

"Weak? If you'd been a suit, you'd have been flung into next week." When Will remained unimpressed, the teen turned to her flying companion for help. "Cherit, did that look weak to you?" The titan shrugged, and gave the girl an encouraging look.

"You're doing fine, Loki. Just keep working! It's not even been a month since your awakening- you shouldn't worry so much." The azure-eyed child sighed, and asked the titan the questions that had been bugging her for a while, since she had first tried to use her powers in the library all that time ago. "_Well_," she amended to herself, _"Not all the long ago at all. Cherit's right. It's only been three weeks. Time has flown by!"_

"I've been working! I don't mean to sound like a petulant child, but I've been training really hard, Will can tell you that, and I haven't progressed at all!" She threaded her fingers through her hair, tilting her head back, and sighed. "What's wrong with me?" The blonde moaned, closing her eyes. "I can't even use Boltflare!"

Unknown to the teen, as she'd been ranting, an orange light had begun to glow around her hand, getting brighter as she went on. At her last word, she flung her hand in a frustrated gesture, and the now fully formed Boltflare went soaring through the air.

It flew past Dante, who was reading a book on the sofa, ruffling his hair as it passed. The man's head snapped up, wondering how suits could have gotten into his house, and watched the twisting ball of light as it made its way across the room, bounced along a corridor, and disappeared around the corner. A crashing sound soon floated back to them, and a hand-weight rolled into view, revealing the noise as the Boltflare heading into Dante's training room. With a sigh, the russet-haired mentor turned around to regard his students.

Seeing that the blonde was looking incriminatingly guilty, gold eyes focused their reproachful glare on her. Loki blushed, and bit her lip anxiously. "Ooops." Will sniggered, and sauntered over.

"Atta girl, killer! We're all set, if a deadly titan disguises itself as Dante's hair." The azure-eyed teen blushed even more, and scuffed a sneaker on the floor. Dante sighed, got up, and wandered over.

"I thought I told you two _not _to aim at me." The brunette sniggered again, and mouthed "Busted" at his friend.

After debating with herself for a moment, the girl decided to be honest. "I wasn't." Both men raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't, honest! I was just ranting, and when I said Boltflare, _whoosh_," She pointed down the passage her impromptu attack had gone. "Off it went!" Her three companions gazed at her curiously, before shrugging.

Cherit flapped over to nestle on her shoulder, giggling. "We should buy a sign that says 'Disaster Zone' for you to wear like a necklace." The blonde turned her head to glare at the little creature, then shifted her shoulders so he fell off. The titan gazed mournfully at her as he flew to sit on the coffee table. "That wasn't very nice." He complained.

Loki grinned. "Neither was what you said, for all it may be the truth. Besides, you have wings, you can't really fall." The white titan couldn't argue with that.

The azure-eyed girl began to walk away down the corridor. "I'd better go tidy up." Dante nodded, eyebrow still raised.

"Put everything back in its place." He told her, and she half-turned back to reply. At that moment, a faint beeping sound rang around the living room, and a green light at the bottom left-hand corner of Dante's TV/ Video-phone began to flash. The blonde teen turned around, unwilling to miss what was going on.

"I'll tidy up later- promise!" The auburn sighed, and moved forwards to take the call.

"Fine- but you'd better keep that promise." He flicked a hand at the screen, telling the group that it was probably Guggenheim. It was clear that this was a regular occurrence at the house of the Foundation's number one Seeker. Picking up the TV remote, the russet-haired Seeker pressed a button, and the call was connected. The blonde Swiss appeared on the screen, a steaming mug of something in his hand and a cheery grin on his face.

Behind him were clues as to what he'd called to talk to Dante about. Pictures of icy wastelands, tundra forests, and snow-topped mountains filled the screen. "Hello everyone. I trust you're enjoying the afternoon." Loki gave a friendly wave, Dante nodded a greeting, and Will just smiled politely. "How does a trip to the wilds of Scandinavia sound? Iceland, I should say."

Lips quirking into a sarcastic grin, Dante tilted his head to one side. "Sounds cold. What's there?" The Huntik bigwig nodded, and his image swirled to become a mission card. It showed a hammer that seemed to be...crackling? It was as if it was covered in lightening! The blonde teen gazed at the weapon with respect, knowing after her various experiences with Raypulses that lightening could pack a punch.

Guggenheim began to explain. "Mission: The Hammer of Thor. Reach the Temple Of Thor, and retrieve the hammer Mjollnir." Statistics scrolled along the left of the screen, and the mission card disappeared in a flash a light. The blonde Huntik member reappeared on the screen, smiling warmly.

"I'll see what I can do." Dante told the Swiss, knowing the mission would be difficult. The blue-eyed operative looked pleased with the answer, knowing that the Foundation's Number one Seeker's best effort would be a good one.

"Well, that's everything. Good luck all, travel safe, and pack warm." His goodbyes said, Guggenheim hung up, and the screen went dark. Loki immediately began to bounce on the balls of her feet, eyes shining with excitement. Both teens were almost expecting the russet-haired man's next words.

"Seekers, we have a mission." The grin on the blonde's face was matched only by the confusion on the brunette's.

"He didn't give us much to go on." The Casterwill muttered, brow furrowed in thought. "Where should we start?" The boy's auburn mentor tilted his head to one side as he walked to a set of drawers with a bonsai on top. Kneeling down beside the little tree, he opened a drawer in the cabinet, and pressed a button on the under side, revealing a horde of amulets. The azure-eyed teen looking on rolled her eyes. Honestly, Dante kept the things hidden _everywhere_!

"We start at the beginning, with a little research." He plucked a round, silver amulet from his stash, and straightened up. "We leave for London in the morning to visit an old friend. I have a hunch that this mission is about to get complicated." The mahogany-haired man gave a little frown, thinking about the days to come.

* * *

><p>The next evening saw the trio outside a museum in London. The air was dark and always covered in threatening clouds. More often than not, those clouds would keep their promises and unleash torrents of rain upon the unlucky Londoners. The huge, smoggy city was a maze of twisting streets, winding roads and endless dead ends. Loki had gotten lost almost immediately. Sure, Venice was similar, with its long canals and back-alleys, but at least in Venice there were many famous landmarks to help travellers find their way!<p>

Shivering, the blonde teen drew her coat about her, and pulled the hood further over her face. Looking around with narrowed eyes, she gave a sigh. "We're too late." The girl told her companions, pointing to the plaque that showed the opening times. Dante shook his head, his shaggy hair dripping wet.

"Don't worry. Tersly's expecting us." He moved past the soggy teenagers, but was stopped by Will.

"Did you say Tersly? Doesn't he work with Montehue, that elite Seeker from the Huntik Foundation?" Due to the glimmer of awe that shone in the boy's eyes, hidden as they were under his soggy hair, the azure-eyed girl could only guess the Montehue was a _very _powerful Seeker. Golden eyes were rolled, and Loki retreated into her hood as Dante shook his head again.

"I don't know about elite. Officially, Montehue is only ranked second." At hearing the scorn in her mentor's voice, the blonde gave a little snort.

"It's not hard to guess who's first!" She gave a small giggle, and nudged the auburn in the side. He shot her an indulgent smile, then turned to the buzzer beside the double doors that lead to the museum.

"Either way, I'm not planning to run into Montehue tonight." As the russet-haired Seeker rang the doorbell, a tiny_ 'ding' _could be heard, and a small, timid voice called out from the intercom.

"Who's there?" It asked nervously. At the cry, Dante smiled, recognition flashing in his amber eyes.

"Tersly, it's Dante Vale." The Lambert moved closer, eager to be out of the rain, and gave a short laugh at her friend's introduction. When he raised a questioning eyebrow, she explained her laughter.

"You always complain about Defoe calling you Dante Vale, and yet, even your old friends don't call you Dante!" The soggy man gave a slight huff of annoyance, but had to admit she had a point. He'd never tell Loki that though- he had his pride, thank you very much!

After the paused needed for the message to travel back to the inner-intercom, the voice gave a little gasp, and grew louder. "Yes, yes, alright, one moment!" Now it was louder, a distinct Irish brogue could be heard. The flaxen-haired Irish standing in the rain smiled at the thought of meeting a fellow countryman, but she was also apprehensive. Her own accent always got stronger when she was with other Irish!

A moment passed, and the door opened, revealing Tersly to the Huntik team. He was young, only twenty or so, and of an average height. His hair was red, a common trait amongst the sons and daughters of Erin, and his eyes were kind and grey behind the lenses of his glasses. A few scraggly hairs were scattered across his chin, and he was obviously trying and failing to grow a beard. He was wearing a blue shirt with a pair of chords with suspenders. The outfit was mussed, but clearly well loved, although it did nothing to hide his scrawny frame.

"Hello Tersly." Dante grinned; pleased to see his friend, and the ginger man behind the door yanked it open a bit more.

"H-hello Dante." His accent was a strong one, and he pronounced Dante as D-aunt-eh, emphasising the D. "All must be freezing. Come in!" Pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, he stepped back to let them through.

* * *

><p>He led them into a grand and splendid hall, with vaulted ceilings, and fine art work covering the walls. It was almost enough to rival Will's canal-side mansion back home in Venice. As their host rushed off to find towels, Loki stared in wonder at the place. She'd never be able to afford a place like this- not even with her father's trust money!<p>

Dante made to introduce his students to Tersly when he returned. "I don't believe you've met my associates." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the brunette lad smiling politely behind him. "This is William Casterwill." Will inclined his head.

"Nice to meet you."

Dante continued. "And this is Loki Lambert." Hearing her name, the blonde turned around, a genuine smile on her face.

"Hello Tersly." Will and Dante gaped at her. Since when had her accent been so strong? "Conas atá tú?"

The grey eyes of her new companion lit up, and the ginger replied in the kind. "Eile na Gaeilge? Tá sé an pléisiúr a bualadh leat!" Jade and amber eyes stared on in amazement and bewilderment at the twosome, not knowing what was going on. Tersly was the first to notice, and he gave a shaky laugh before explaining.

"I was merely telling Loki that it's nice to meet a fellow Irishman, well, woman, out here in the wide world." Both men 'ohhh'ed', understanding clearing the puzzled air that hung about them.

"If you wouldn't mind using a language we can all understand." The auburn murmured, a glint of humour glimmering in his golden orbs. Loki giggled, before nodding.

"Sorry Dante. It's just this is the first time I've gotten to speak my native tongue since I left Ireland!" She blushed, and bowed her head. Tersly agreed, giving an anxious smile.

"Well, it's a pleasure meeting all of you, and lovely to see you again, Dante!" The two men shared a smile, before the older Seeker grew serious.

"Montehue around?" He asked, eyes flickering around the room, scanning the various doorways for movement. The glasses-wearing Irishman shook his head, then handed out his fluffy burden.

"P-presently he's out playing racket-ball at the club." The auburn gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Ruthlessly crushing his opponent no doubt. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention we dropped by. You know how he can be." The smaller man gave a secretive grin.

"Mom's the word. We'll talk in here." He pointed down a side passage, and Dante gave a curt nod. He glanced over his shoulder at his pupils, eyes serious.

"Why don't you two go have a look around? But stay alert." The teens nodded, and wandered off, looks of scholarly interest on their faces.

* * *

><p>Tersly lead the way into an old gallery, filled with Greek statues. Gesturing for Dante to take a seat on the bench that ran the length of the room, he asked his old friend what he had come for. In typical Dante fashion, the russet-haired Seeker replied to a question with a question.<p>

"How's your Norse mythology?" The ginger smiled, and sat down.

"Not too shabby- your friend, for instance, is named after their god of fire and trickery!" Golden eyes danced with mirth- Loki had proven her name many times over!

"What can you tell me about Thor, and the hammer Mjollnir?" He said at last, leaning forwards in interest. The younger man looked excited, and began to divulge his knowledge.

"Ah, yes, Thor. According to Norse Legend, his purpose was to guard the Realm of the Gods. To this end, he used a hammer made of pure lightening." The auburn nodded, having already known this.

"So, what does that have to do with the Huntik Foundation?" He prompted, knowing the Irishman would go on forever about a topic unless you directed him.

"Plenty," The grey-eyed lad said at once. "I have reason to believe he was a Seeker!"

* * *

><p>In a gallery elsewhere in the museum, Will had cornered Loki about her change in tone. "I know you have a brogue, but where did this come from?" She gave a bashfully smile, and made to run away, but the Casterwill stood firm in her path.<p>

"Answer Loki." The blonde sighed, and raked a hand though her golden locks.

"My accent comes out when I'm with other Irish people- satisfied?" The boy shook his head, and Loki sighed again. "I've been away from Ireland for a year now, and not talking Irish has dulled it somewhat, but Irish will always be the accent and language I first learnt. When I'm with other Irishmen, I change my tone because that's what I used to sound like. Satisfied now?" Will nodded, and the two continued down the hall, staring at the large collection of artefacts that lined it.

A while passed before the azure-eyed girl admitted another reason why she'd never forget her roots. "My father was Irish, and I feel closer to him when I speak it. It's one of the only things I have to remember him by." A hand on her shoulder startled the blonde, and she looked up to see compassion in the jade eyes of her friend.

"I know what you mean. LeBlanche used to tell me that my mother was a great art collector. I don't remember her well, but somehow, I feel like I'm closer to her with all these paintings around me- but don't repeat that to anyone!" They shared a laugh, but sadness lingered in both their eyes as they thought about their missing parents.

"I always felt like I only knew part of my dad." The blonde muttered after a moment. "When I was little, I always felt like he was hiding something from me, and I'm only starting to find out about it now." The brunette's eyes softened- even though his parents were dead, he'd never had to deal with the lies and deceit that his friend was going through.

"I'm sorry, Loki." He told her, slipping a hand into hers. She smiled sadly, and began to walk along the gallery, pulling him with her.

"It's okay. I only wish I'd been in on it sooner." Both teens knew it was a lie- Will could hear the tremor of tears in her voice.

They looked in wonder at the relics that were scattered through the twisting halls, and eventually found themselves on the ground floor again, looking through Roman statues. Suddenly, a shadow blotted out the light streaming through the window, but only for a second. The teens looked over, and saw a white-haired old man with a beard and a hooded cape walking away. He paused by the door to the museum, and muttered a quick spell, the words indistinct. The cloaked figure's outstretched hand glowed a bright blue, before he moved on.

The blue eyes of the girl watching went wide, and she backed away. "That guy's evil!" She cried. Will looked at her in alarm.

"What gave it away? Recognise him?" He muttered sarcastically. The blonde shook her head, then turned to look at her friend with wide, naive eyes.

"He has a _beard_!" The emerald-eyed boy gazed at her in silent amazement.

"What?" He whispered finally, still staring. "Dante has a beard!"

"No, Dante has a goatee. _That _guy had a beard."

Will stopped staring and headed for the door. "I can't believe we're having this conversation. Let's just go after him."

Loki nodded, face set with determination, and followed the Casterwill through the twisting hallways of the museum.

* * *

><p>"A Seeker?" Back with Dante, the russet-haired man was questioning his friend on his theory, even though he knew it was probably right. Tersly was a renowned scholar, and hardly ever wrong.<p>

"And not only that," The Irishman continued, the idea giving his grey eyes a feverish energy. "I believe his hammer was actually an artefact from the ancient war against the Nullifiers! It would explain why he was powerful enough that people thought he was a god!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the two teens had reached the main entrance, and stepped out into the cold night. The rain had since stopped, making it easy to see the hooded man that stood before the museum.<p>

"You there!" Will called, authority clear in his tone. "Stop!" The man looked around, then broke into a run. Loki scoffed, and started after him, with her green-eyed friend following close behind.

"That really did the trick!" She mocked as they sped along the street. The boy sprinting beside her shot a glare in her direction, but it faded when they turned the corner.

The road beyond was empty. The stranger had disappeared. "Great." The brunette spat, face twisted with disgust. "We lost him!" Loki was strangely tense, her body quivering like a dog on a hunt. Her sharp, bright eyes scoured the street, searching for an clues. Suddenly, she spotted a light shining in an alleyway. It was blue, and obviously coming from a Seeker's power!

"No," She hissed to her companion. "There he is!" The girl half crouched before crying: "Hyperstride!" Blonde locks streaming out behind her, the azure-eyed teen sprung after her prey like an arrow from a bow, landed gracefully in the middle of the road, then ran to the alley. Will sighed, before leaping after her.

The glow disappeared just before they reached the side street. The youngest teen growled quietly, knowing this meant her quarry had escaped. Sure enough, when she skidded to a halt at the end of the lane, it was empty, and the bearded man had gone.

"Damm it!" Loki snapped, fists clenched and glaring at the floor. "I know I saw him!" Will nodded, having seen the light his friend had been chasing.

"It was probably an illusion to throw us off. Come on, we'd better tell Dante."

A voice rang out behind them. "Tell me what?" The teens turned around just in time to see the russet-haired Seeker land at the end of the alleyway, the blue glow of a Hyperstride glimmering around his legs. Tersly was running close behind, his breath coming in short gasps that could be seen as billowing clouds on the frigid London air. The two teens walked to meet them.

As they neared, Will spoke up. "You followed us?" He asked incredulously, hurt tingeing his voice. He thought Dante trusted him, and yet here he was, following them! This, along with his constant preference of that be dammed woman with the stupid, flashy hair, made the Casterwill lad question his mentor's sanity.

Luckily, the man shook his head. "We heard the shouting. What happened?" Loki padded up to him, and began to explain.

"There was a man outside the window, but we couldn't see him face. He had a long beard, was about 6", rather old, and was wearing a hooded, blue cloak with a design on the back made of a hammer." Will glanced at the blonde in surprise.

"How...?" He started to ask, but was cut off by his friend's reply.

"My dad taught me to notice the little things. They're the details that usually solve a puzzle." The brunette tilted his head to one side, considering, and Dante butted in.

"And he got away?" The auburn half-asked, leading the conversation back to the matter at hand. His students nodded, and the man's golden eyes grew hard. The azure-eyed girl next to him quailed under the fierce look.

"How many times do I have to tell the two of you not to wander off, or do anything stupid before you listen?" He raged, concern and anger swirling in his eyes in equal measure. "What if you'd caught up with him? Then what? He could have hurt you, even killed you! What were you thinking? You should have come to me!" Dante span around and marched off to the top of the road. Silence descended on the trio left behind.

Will was devastated, not having thought about the consequences of his actions. The brunette hung his head in shame, eyes burning with disappointment in himself.

Tersly was shocked, knowing that the mahogany-haired man was usually calm and collected at all times. In his long friendship with the man, he'd only ever seen the amber-eyed Seeker once before, when the ginger had almost gotten himself killed on one of his many adventures with Montehue. Knowing Dante, the grey-eyed Irishman knew that he was just worried. Dante's anger was either a sign of hate, or of extreme love. With the pair beside him, Tersly thought it was safe to say that the gold-eyed man cared deeply for them both.

Loki was heartbroken. It had been her idea to go after the stranger after all. In truth, she'd not thought at all, just gone with her instincts. The blonde crept up to her mentor, and placed a gentle hand on his arm. When Dante shrugged it off, she was crushed, and retreated to the shadows.

The auburn looked up after a moment, and turned to her. "You really have no sense of self-preservation, do you, Loki?" He walked over and slung an arm around her thin shoulders, squeezing gently. "Don't you realise that not everyone out there is as weak as a suit? Some people could give me a run for my money on a good day. You have _got _to be more careful." Amber eyes flickered over to Will, and their owner inclined his head to him. "Both of you."

The two students gave mutters of agreement, before the azure-eyed girl asked the question that had been bugging her since Dante had walked up to them. "Who was that? What's going on?" The russet-haired Seeker sighed, and padded over to the end of the alley, poking his head out to look around.

"Something we've not seen the last of."

* * *

><p>AN: Well, there you go! The next chapter will be up as soon as possible!<p> 


	21. Chapter 20 The Legacy of Thor Part 2

AN: I hate being ill.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 20- The Legacy of Thor Part 2

The next day saw the team landing an unchartered flight on a tiny, snowy runway. After scrambling out of the small cockpit, Loki gazed about in awe and wonder at the majestic valleys and mountains of the Icelandic landscape. Hearing calls from her friends, the blonde scampered across to them, and the hike began.

Each person in the team had to carry their own weight, and that weight was greatly increased by the sheer volume of clothes they had to wear to keep warm. Will was feeling and looking fairly ridiculous in his puffy ski jacket, turtleneck, and salopettes, and yet he insisted on wearing a knitted woollen hat that LeBlanche had given him. It would seem that even the sullen brunette had some feelings.

Loki was wearing a slightly longer skirt than usual, with a woolly hat, tights, and a slim-line ski jacket. Dante had kited her out, since the blonde had never been to a snowy place before, and had no idea what to get.

Dante himself was only wearing a jumper under his trench coat. All three were lugging rucksacks, with the blonde's being slightly lighter. The boys had decided not to tell her that, and had done it only because she wasn't used to the environment. And, although neither would ever say it to her face, because she was a girl. Even so, by the third day she was beginning to droop.

* * *

><p>"I haven't felt my face since the airport." The Casterwill muttered to Cherit, who was flying alongside him, a blue scarf thoughtfully draped around his tiny neck. Loki had seen him shivering on the second day, and given up her scarf for her tiny friend. The white titan laughed, and gave the miserable boy a thumbs up.<p>

"Chill out Will!" He laughed. "Onwards and upwards!" Emerald eyes rolled, and their owner let out a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Cherit."

Loki was walking up ahead with her auburn mentor, her pale cheeks flushed with cold. "Dante, do you know how much further we have to hike?" The russet-haired man sighed, then drew his holotome from his pocket.

"Well, even after I input the data Tersly gave me, I can't say much more than we're headed in the right direction."

"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?" The blonde muttered, tucking wisps of hair into her hat. Dante gave an apologetic smile, then picked up the ice axe he was using as a walking stick.

"Better get used to it. We might be out here for a while."

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed almost without incident. The only interesting thing that happened was when the group came to a steep hill. Will and Dante skidded down it, using sticks and Dante's axe to steady themselves. Loki stood nervously at the top, not fancying her chances, and spotted half a tree trunk, hollowed out by rain and snow, only a few meters to her left. She smiled. The Irish girl had always wanted to go sledding!<p>

Needless to say, the look on her companions' faces when she flew past them was priceless, and the ride was great fun. When the boys caught up to her, they gave the giggling teen rueful glares, and asked themselves why they hadn't thought of that. She replied that they were too serious, which caused a snowball fight between the teens as Dante watched the growing storm clouds with wary golden eyes.

* * *

><p>His fears were confirmed when a blizzard started up not two hours later. "There's no sense in going any further!" The amber-orbed Seeker told his students. "Let's set up camp down there!" Pointing to a small forest, the man led the way, helping the scared Loki, who was busy keeping Cherit from being swept away.<p>

* * *

><p>When night fell, the Huntik team had only just set up the camp, and the storm was still howling outside. Dante was getting some rest of one side of the massive tent, whilst the two teens relaxed on the other. Or, rather, Loki was relaxing and Will was studying. After a moment, he began to tell his friend what was in the book. What he didn't notice was the fact that Loki was mouthing word for word what he was saying.<p>

"This is interesting. According to the books Tersly gave me, there were nine different worlds connected by a rainbow bridge. The highest world, Asgard, was the one guarded by Thor and his hammer."

Loki rolled her eyes, and snorted. "Fascinating." Will ignored her, too excited by his books.

"And here, it says that many Norse lords worshiped him as a god of justice! That must be why Tersly thinks he was a Seeker!" The azure-eyed teen just laughed, and hit him on the shoulder.

"You read too much." She joked. The jade-eyed lad before her scowled, and tossed a book in her direction.

"And you read too little. Here- there'll be a pop quiz in the morning." The girl just laughed, and handed the book back to him.

"I do read, only I read certain subjects. And one of them was Norse mythology! I have in fact read this book before!" She giggled at the shock expression on Will's face. "Hey, didn't you think I'd want to research the origins of my name!" The boy nodded and sighed.

"I should have expected that." When Loki looked confused, he explained. "I should have expected you to have done the exact opposite of what I'd thought you'd do." The pair burst into quiet laughter, conscious of the fact that Dante was sleeping.

Suddenly, a vivid blue flash erupted outside the tent. Eyes wide with fear, the teens looked on as something got closer and closer to them at a startling rate. They half-sighed with relief as the thing hammered at the tent zip, yelling at them to let him in. It was only Cherit.

When Loki unleashed the zip, however, the titan flew through so fast he got his scarf stuck, and ended up strangling himself. "Don't mind me." He whispered hoarsely. "There's someone out there!" Will froze.

"Someone, or _something_!"

Cherit scrambled over to the blonde child, eyes watching the tent opening like a mouse watches a cobra. "Loki, do something!" The girl sighed, and crouched up, wondering why the little titan always asked her to help.

"Stay here!" She told the others, before creeping over to the flap. She hesitated, then slipped out, all as silent as a shadow.

* * *

><p>Outside, nothing moved. It was pitch black, except for the drifting white dots of the snow. The blonde held still, knowing her prey would reveal itself. Light bobbed in the distance, and the teen gave a savage grin. There.<p>

She slunk along, keeping close to the ground, moving as quietly as she was able in the snowy terrain. Manoeuvring herself so she went around the light and its conjurer, Loki came up on the intruder from behind. Getting as close as she felt she could get without being seen, the azure-eyed Seeker held out a hand, focusing on the danger she and her friends were in, and prayed the mist-power would do what she wanted. Screwing her eyes tightly shut, she imagined it flowing from her hand, winding along the air, and curling lightly around the figure's throat. Hearing a gasp, the blonde opened her eyes to see that the power had done as she asked, although she got the feeling that it was a one off.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The girl demanded of the stranger. The figure stiffened, then began to spout a blistering rant.

"Loki, it's me, you useless half-wit! Don't you have someone your own age to practice on? I have better things to be doing that being attacked by pint-sized Seekers! Dante asked me to come!" It was Zhalia, neatly dressed in fashionable snow-gear, and a killer glare on her face. "Get this stuff off me! I thought you said you had no control over it!" Smiling bashfully, Loki did as she was bid, and willed away the blue-grey power. Surprisingly, it went. The blonde had her suspicions that the power wouldn't be as nice next time it was called.

"I'm sorry Zhalia!" She yelped, running over to the disgruntled woman. "We thought there was someone out there! It's not like it would be the first time.."

"I know. Where's Dante, just tell him I'm here already." The azure-eyed girl shot a glare at her new companion.

"Do I have skivvy stamped on my forehead? Tell him yourself!"

"No need. I'm here." Came a voice from behind them, and Will and Dante padded over from the camp site. Whilst the latter was smiling broadly, the former was sulking. He'd obviously wanted a fight to break the monotonous boredom of the march. "Glad to see you made it okay." The auburn told the blue-haired woman. Zhalia was still in a mood about how she'd been 'greeted' by Loki, and so continued to snap at everyone around her.

"Well, you're lucky I'm good with location spells, otherwise I would have turned back a long time ago."

Will rolled his eyes, and a look of false innocence appeared on his face. "Well, it's never too late." Coffee eyes met jade in a battle of scorn, but both looked away at the same time

"Clever." Zhalia muttered, walking towards the little camp. "Let me guess- you haven't located the temple yet." The russet-haired Seeker behind her nodded, then realized she couldn't see him.

"Good guess." He called, motioning for the teens to follow her, before making for the camp himself. Loki, who was still annoyed at the way Zhalia had treated her- it had been an honest mistake after all- made to defend Dante and her teammates.

"We were headed in the right direction, before the blizzard."

As she knelt down by the fire outside the tent, the blue-haired Seeker gave a bitter, dark laugh. "It could have been worse. Better a blizzard than the Guardians." The blonde teen raced to sit by the fire, eyes wide with interest.

"Who are the Guardians?" She asked, feeling both excitement and fear stirring in her heart. Dante reached the fire, but remained standing, watching the trees, and not looking at any of his teammates.

"So, you've heard of them too." Will marched up to the fire and sat down, scowling. He'd not heard of the Guardians, and was furious that his mentor had kept something from him, and not the mocha-eyed operative beside him. Again.

"They don't know?" Zhalia asked, truly surprised. When the amber-eyed man before her nodded, she settled down to explain. Despite hating its teller, Will wanted to hear the story, and inched closer to the fire, knees drawn up under his chin.

"Word has it that there is an ancient cult called the Guardians of Thor. They've been in existence for thousands of years, preserving the ways of the Norse Gods."

Feeling the excitement dropping away, leaving only fear in its wake, Loki spoke up. "Something tells me they protect temples and artefacts. And that they aren't very willing to part with them." The story-teller nodded, and carried on with her tale.

"That's not the best part, junior. The Organization infiltrated their little group completely, so you see, by now they know we're coming, and they're not giving in without a fight."

* * *

><p>Unknown to all of them, Zhalia was right. In a temple not that far away, the Guardians were summoning a fierce titan to defend their ancient palace. Each Guardian was the same as the last- tall, old, with a long, flowing, white beard and a hooded cloak with the sign of the hammer on the back. They walked in time to the main hall, where they formed a circle.<p>

The leader padded forwards, the titan's amulet in one hand, and a sword in the other. "Guardians of the Temple of Thor, Protectors of Mjollnir, Descendants of the Æsir, the titan of Ymir shall be awakened, but first, we must intone the ancient incantation of Asgard!" He lifted the amulet, now glowing ice-blue, and the Guardians began to chant.

"Ymir, hear us, answer our plea for your holy protection. We invoke you, we summon you to form!" The ground began to shake, and the men staggered, trying to keep their balance, still desperately crying for Ymir.

* * *

><p>Morning broke, white and pure like the snow underfoot, and the team set off again. Reaching higher into the mountains, Loki began to feel her vertigo rising in her throat. Instead of focusing on how high they'd come, she kept her eyes on her feet. Will moved closer to her, seeing the way she was turning steadily greener. Dante noticed as well, Zhalia too, but they said nothing for their own reasons. Dante knew the teen wouldn't want to be a burden, and was quietly keeping it under control, and Zhalia couldn't stand weaklings.<p>

The russet-haired man pulled out his holotome, and scanned the programmed map that appeared when he opened it. "Watch your step. One slip and you'll end up in the crags."

The team nodded, with the blonde teen taking his advice a bit too literally. "How far have we gone, anyway?" She called, her voice all but lost in the howling wind.

"Three miles, maybe more." Came the reply, and the azure-eyed girl drooped. Zhalia huffed, and drew her coat around her.

"We're all freezing to death out here. Is there any reason why we're not just using powers?" Will shot a venom-filled glare at the blue-haired Seeker.

"Dante said we should conserve our power." He told her superiorly. Brown eyes glared right back at him, and the wind and snow picked up. The brunette looked in shock at the now stormy sky, and Loki plucked Cherit out of the air, cradling him to her chest. The little titan gave her a thankful grin, not like the prospect of getting blown away. "Just what spell are you using anyway?" Zhalia glanced at the teen, then returned her gaze to the sky.

"This isn't me..." She murmured, as the ground began to shake, heavy shock-waves rocking the ground, and a sound like the rumbling of thunder filled the air. Dante turned to face the trio, his amber eyes grave.

"Something's coming!" He yelled, shaggy, auburn hair whipping about in the wind. "Stay on your guard, be ready for anything." Seeing the mounting fear on his teammates' faces, he span around, and saw for himself the monstrous figure headed their way.

It was huge, so big a normal man would only come up to his ankle, and made of ice. He had a jagged beard, and his fingers ended in massive icicle claws. Bands of gold circled his huge wrists, and a look of cold anger covered his face.

"Does that count?" Loki cried, pushing Cherit to curl around her neck, under her hood, leaving her hands free to fight. "Does a huge, god-damm Frost Giant count?" As she and her friends backed away, Dante scanned the creature with his holotome. It reeled off a load of statistics, ending with the chilling message that it could summon allies.

"It must have been sent by the Guardians." The blonde teen shouted, eyes wide. "The Frost Giants were enemies of Asgard- so why do they fight _for_ them now?"

Will shrugged, still staring in fear at the colossal titan. The teens' mentor looked from the holotome's screen to the ice man, then back again. "I was afraid of this- it's the titan Ymir! He can create an army of ice creatures to fight by his side!"

Loki went even paler, and gave her older friend a wide-eyed look. "Oh, well, that's just brilliant, isn't it!" She muttered, before raising her voice. "What's the plan?" Dante thought for a second, then nodded, and gathered the team around the holotome, which was displaying a live image of Ymir headed towards them.

"I'll hit him with a frontal attack." Zhalia and Will made to protest, but when each saw the other was going to speak they didn't, not wanting to agree on anything. "The rest of you fan out here," The amber-eyed man continued, pointing to a spot on the map, which then glowed blue. "Here," Another touch, another glowing spot. "And here and see if you can distract him." The final point shone out, before the team leader pointed to the real life titan. "Loki, follow his footprints back where he came from, over here!" He gestured to the place where the group had originally been headed, and the girl nodded.

A shadow fell over the group, and the blonde looked up to see that the ice man had gotten much closer. "Oh man!" She yelped, taking an involuntary step back. "He does not look friendly!" Zhalia scoffed, and made to run to her position.

"There's a reason for that- he isn't!" The titan roared, and Dante nodded to his team. They all tensed, ready to play their part.

"Get moving! Touchram!" Loki moved off as her mentor shot the green energy at Ymir, but skidded to a halt as the titan just roared again, and took another step.

"It didn't work!" She cried. "He's too strong!" The auburn's golden eyes widened in surprise, and he dumped his bag on the floor.

"Plan B- everyone run!" They happily complied, but the azure-eyed teen had been _behind_ the titan, doing as Dante had told her, and so was trapped. The mahogany-haired Seeker looked back, and yelled for her to hurry. Desperately, she Hyperstrided to one side, trying to dodge around the massive creature, but her movement caught the titan's eye, and he turned to face her, blocking the way to her teammates. Cobalt eyes met gold for a second, before the girl threw her pack to the ground and called Nimblefire to help her to run- in the opposite direction.

"Loki! Come back!" Dante called, but his voice was caught in the winds of the storm, blown backwards in the wrong way to its intended target. Instead, Will and Zhalia turned back, looking on in horror as the blonde tried to escape the Frost Giant, speeding across the snowy tundra.

The Casterwill moved forwards, jade eyes filled with worry, and his breath caught in his throat as his friend narrowly avoided the titan's grasping hands. "Loki!" He yelled, just as the wind changed, carrying his call across to her. She looked over, gasping for breath, Will's voice distracting her long enough for Ymir to smack her with one ginormous fist. The young human went flying, but twisted in the air to land on her hands, pushing off and flipping backwards as the titan swung again. She landed wrong, going down on one knee, the ice man's next punch going an inch above her head. Getting up, she growled, and shucked off her coat, needing all the manoeuvrability she could get.

"Hurry!" Dante cried, knowing that the girl couldn't keep it up for much longer. "This way!" He ran at the giant, and after a moment's hesitation, Will and Zhalia followed. The russet-haired man threw a beam of red light at one huge leg, yelling "Bristlevine!" The light became ropes of thorny vines, wrapping around the titan. Ymir tripped, and fell, almost squishing Loki, but the girl danced out the way, the Nimblefire's red light fading, then vanishing completely. The teen sighed, drooping for a second, then sprinted after her teammates.

"Thanks for the save!" She panted, catching up easily, no longer weighed down by her heavy snow coat. Will glared at her, moving closer as they ran, and slipped his hand into hers. She gave an apologetic smile, and mouthed the word sorry, knowing she had scared him.

* * *

><p>Behind them all, the Frost Giant was ripping his bonds, tearing them as he struggled to his feet. Standing tall, the titan howled his fury, then blew a gust of blistering cold to knock down his fleeing prey. As the dust cleared and the team scrambled to their feet, Loki shivered, more from fear than from the cold. A strange hissing sound filled the air, and the last of the dust fell away, revealing an army of jagged creatures sculpted from ice surrounding them. Ymir had called his allies. The blonde teen, her snow-caked hair looking white instead of its usual gold, took a step back as one swung a rugged claw at her, only to spin around to dodge another.<p>

"This does not look good!" She told herself, staring with wide eyes at their seemingly endless foes. The team back away from the ice creatures, standing in a circle. Dante gave the blonde teen a quick glance over, making sure she was okay, then turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Stay calm." He whispered to his teammates. They nodded, slowly reaching into their various pockets, clasping their titans in their hands. "Okay, get ready." A moment passed before Dante started the battle.

"Come on out, Caliban!" The Aztec did as he was bid, holding a hefty club in one hand, perfect for smashing the brittle bones of the Frost Giant's friends.

Will was next. "Emerge, Sabriel!" The pink-haired warrior appeared in a flash of rosy light, her sword at the ready.

"Now Freelancer!" Loki shouted, and the armoured titan answered her call, standing defensively in front of her, protecting her with his shield.

Zhalia was the last to call her titans, holding both her amulets before her, coffee eyes sharp. "Gareon, Kilthane, quickly!"

The titans and the creatures charged each other, claws against swords and shields. Freelancer slipped on the body on one of his opponents, and went down, only just managing to raise his shield to defend himself whilst he got up. Caliban, Sabriel and Kilthane smashed through the monsters, but it still wasn't enough.

"We need to hit them harder!" Zhalia snarled. Dante nodded, pushing aside his coat to reach a silver, ball-like amulet at his belt.

"I brought a titan especially for this mission, and the time to use it is now! Melt them, Ignatius!" The titan appeared from the sky as a ball of molten lava, which grew arms, legs and a small, round head. It was humanoid, but larger than even Dante. His feet melted the ground beneath them, and he radiated heat. Roaring in a sluggish voice, like his vocal chords were made of magma- and they probably were- Ignatius spewed lava at the ice creatures, melting half of them away in one go. Looking on, Ymir growled at the destruction of his pets, and moved forwards.

At the thundering footsteps, the team looked back, surprised. Whilst Ignatius finished off the ice allies, Dante formed a new plan. "Loki, Will, trace his tracks back to the temple. We'll stay here and hold the line." The teens nodded.

"Got it." The blonde took Will's hand, and the two set off. The Seekers left behind shared a grim smile, then turned to face their massive opponent.

* * *

><p>"Gareon, slow it down!" The blue-haired woman cried, and the lizard-like titan on her shoulder obeyed, but the laser beams from his eyes did nothing to halt the titan's progress. The amber-eyed human beside them sent a Raypulse to burn the giant's eyes, but again, it failed. The titan ignored the two adult Seekers, and kept after the teens. Zhalia put a hand on Dante's arm, stopping him from casting another power.<p>

"It doesn't care about us!" She told him. "It's trying to keep the secret of the temple safe..." But the auburn wasn't listening, and instead ran after the mighty ice man. Reaching the giant's leg, the same one that he had trapped with Bristlevine earlier, Dante called out another new power. "Spidertouch!" Light blue, sticky strands sprang from his hand and grabbed onto the icy trunk, pulling the man close enough that he could hold on by more conventional means.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Loki and Will were running, following the massive indents in the snowy ground. Cherit, who was flying, risked a look behind them. "It's still following us!" At his words, the blonde looked around too, before grabbing her friend's hand and dragging him along.<p>

"Hurry!" The pair ran faster, trying to escape their pursuer, but stopped. The prints they had been following had led them to a cliff-edge, and they were trapped on top of it!

Will turned to her, and saw his idea reflected in her azure eyes. "Now, let's see if your studies paid off!" The teens ran to opposite sides of the cliff, and the colossal titan ambled forwards, one heavy footstep after the other.

"Raypulse!" Loki cried, throwing a bright, twisting beam of fiery energy at Ymir's eyes, with the brunette following suite. Moving backwards, they kept up the streams, blinding the titan, and it stumbled. As it did, Cherit could see a figure riding behind on massive shoulder.

"This isn't as easy as it looks!" Dante yelled, seeing the little creature, his eyes lit up with a fierce glow. The grey eyes of the titan widened.

"Dante?" He asked. "What's he doing up there!" The blonde, hearing the winged being's shout, stopped blasting the titan, and signalled to her companion to cut it out. Unfortunately, Will thought she was telling him to end the titan! He sent his strongest Raypulse yet, catching the giant's heel, and sending him stumbling into the abyss.

"No!" The azure-eyed girl screamed. "Dante!"She pulled Kipperin from around her neck, undoing the clasp in her haste, and summoned the titan faster than she ever had before. The Casterwill paled, realizing what he'd done. "Take me to him!" The green creature wrapped his vine-like arms around her, creating the familiar harness, and the duo were about to take off when a hand rested on the Seeker's shoulder.

"What did I ever do to you?" Came a dry, sarcastic voice, and the teen spun around to face her auburn mentor. Zhalia came up behind them, feeling strangely...worried about the russet-haired Seeker, and didn't know whether to sigh with relief or slap him. She settled for the first option, not having the guts to go up to the man. The quiet sigh let her release her feelings, without showing them to anyone else.

Loki, it seemed, had no such qualms, and gave Dante a resounding smack around the cheek. He put a surprised hand to his face, eyes wide, and Will gaped at the blonde. "What was that for?" They both asked, and cobalt eyes glared hard into gold, before softening and breaking down into tears.

"I thought you'd gone over!" She whispered brokenly, throwing her arms around his neck. After a moment, Dante drew her close, a little smile on his face. It was nice to feel wanted, even if it was shown in the form of a slap. "Don't you ever ever scare me like that again! I thought you were dead!" The mahogany-haired man gave a small chuckle, and Loki looked up, her eyes asking why.

"I guess you know how I feel every time you wind up getting hurt, or lost, or do something stupidly reckless." The Irish lass blushed, and returned Kipperin to his amulet. The winged titan was grumbling to himself about getting his hopes up. Loki apologized, and told him it was an honest mistake. Kipperin forgave her, and muttered something about her making up for it by flying with him later. She agreed, and the amulet hummed contentedly.

The group gathered around the cliff, wondering how they'd find the temple now.

* * *

><p>AN: I can just picture Dante's face when he gets slapped. So funny<p> 


	22. Chapter 21 The Legacy of Thor Part 3

The Seeker Within

Chapter 21- The Legacy of Thor Part 3

As the team stood and stared around them, with Loki shooting a few fugitive glances at Dante, checking him over, the ground began to shake. A great pillar of ice that rose in front of the cliff began to crack, pieces falling off, landing with loud crashes that echoed up the cliff edge. Cherit flew around in a panic till the blonde teen reached up and drew him into a hug.

"The ice is breaking!" The little titan cried, struggling. Loki gave a quiet laugh.

"It's okay, Cherit! It's over there- we're fine." Dante nodded, looking at the collapsing column.

"She's right. The giant's fall must have done some damage." The dust from the pillar's destruction cleared, and any further words caught in the team's throat. Across the valley, gleaming and glimmering in the sunlight, was the Temple of Thor.

"There it is!" Will grinned, jade eyes lighting up.

Loki gave a pleased smile. "It's beautiful!" Zhalia, ever grouchy, just gave an irritable sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. Now we've all agreed how breath-taking it is, does anyone have any idea how to, you know, get there?"

Will smiled smugly at the blue-haired woman. "Sure. Kipperin can ferry us across." The azure-eyed girl bit her lip, half-smiling, the other half desperately trying not to laugh.

"Sorry to knock you down a peg, Will," The teen giggled as the coffee-eyed Seeker behind her muttered something about knocking him down more than a peg. "But, I'm not sure I can keep Kipperin invoked for that long. Besides, I thought after you went on and on about reading last night, you'd have at least remembered something about Norse mythology." Emerald eyes shot a killer glare at the girl, but confusion lingered in their depths.

"Fine, you got me." The Casterwill admitted at last. "I have no idea what you're on about, Loki. Get to the point, will you!" Blushing, the Irish did as she was bid.

"You forgot about Bifröst. You know, the bridge that stretches from Midgard, the mortal realm, to Asgard, the realm of the gods?" Now it was Will's turn to blush.

"Oh, yeah, that." Dante laughed, and Zhalia sniggered. Cherit just gave the blonde a thumbs up.

"Nice one, lass!" He congratulated. Growing serious, the auburn turned to his student.

"Now, what's this about a bridge?" The girl paused for a second, bringing up the half forgotten knowledge, frowned for a moment, then smiled.

"It was a bridge that connected three of the nine worlds. It's name had something to do with what it was made from..." She trailed off again. "Oh, what was it!" Thinking hard, the teen looked to the sky, conscious of the fact that the entire mission relied on her remembering. Suddenly, the overcast sun caught one of the snowflakes, sending swirling patterns of multi-coloured light scattering for a brief moment.

"Bifröst means shimmering path..." Loki murmured, then almost danced for joy. "Bifröst was a bridge made from the rainbow! They usually happen during sun-showers!"

Will, eager to be Mr. Know-it-all again, nodded "That's right. A rainbow is formed when the sun hits droplets of moisture in the earth's atmosphere! If only we could create the right conditions somehow..." The team paused for a minute, gazing up at the sky, knowing the answers lay there.

Suddenly, the blonde started grinning. Dante, seeing the smile, knew that the teen had an idea. "Loki?" She looked at him, a devious glint to her cobalt eyes.

"Can you bring out Ignatius for me?" The amber-eyed Seeker nodded slowly, and pulled the ball-shaped amulet from his belt.

"This should be interesting. Let's see what you've got in mind. Come on out, Ignatius!" The plump, lava-made figure appeared in a swirl of fire, his feet melting the ground. The azure-eyed girl gave a quick grin, before holding the green amulet in her hand above her head.

"Answer my call, Kipperin!" The titan burst forth in a blaze of emerald, then turned to face his Seeker, his vine-like tentacles reaching for her, eagerness surging across the Bond to light up Loki's face with a smile. "Sorry wing-brother, but not this time." She inclined her head in Ignatius's direction. "Let's mix it up a bit!" The huge brown eyes of her titan sized up their passenger, then moved to regard their Seeker again. Kipperin nodded, glad to have a challenge.

The vine-like arms wrapped around the flaming body of Ignatius, and the pair took to the air. Dante grinned as his young student whooped. "And they're off!" The girl cried. As the titans rose higher, understanding dawned in the eyes of Loki's teammates.

The duo reached the clouds, and Kipperin began to fly around in circles as Ignatius spewed fire from his mouth in a raging torrent. The snow melted, and fell as rain. The russet-haired man watching with pride gave a quiet laugh, then turned to the blue-haired woman beside him. "Zhalia, if you'd be so kind?" She turned to face him, her coffee-coloured eyes glinting with humor.

"There's nothing my Strix can't put a hole in." The Seeker bragged, drawing the brown and gold amulet from her pocket. Calling their name, she raised her hand to the sky, and they flew from the pendant clasped within. The trio of giant wasps soared into the clouds, breaking them into pieces, and the pieces into wisps, and the wisps into nothing, till sunlight shone down upon the Huntik team.

"I think it's working!" Cherit screeched, shielding his eyes from the blinding sunlight. As the beams hit the cliff where the group were standing, a rainbow shot from their feet to stretch across the valley. Everyone just stood and stared for a moment, eyes wide at this amazing bridge.

"It worked..." Will breathed, not believing. Loki just nodded soundlessly. Dante managed a yep, and Zhalia recalled her Strix. Seeing them return, the other Seekers called back their titans, and the blonde teen stepped tentatively forwards, delicately placing a foot on the multi-coloured bridge. When it didn't give, she put both feet on, then turned back.

"It worked!" She cried, blue eyes lit up with happiness. Zhalia gave a huff of amazement.

"Not bad." The woman murmured. The little white titan above their heads gave a loop-de-loop of triumph.

"The rainbow bridge! It's really there!" Dante stepped up next to Loki and shot her an affectionate smile.

"There's only one thing to do now. Let's go." The teens gave a woop, and trotted along after their mentor.

"Alright! Temple of Thor here we come!"

* * *

><p>The bridge, however fantastic it was, was a long one, and the journey soon got boring for the three oldest humans of the team. Loki's enthusiasm was not to be defeated so easily, though, and she continued gazing about her in awe and wonder. They had neared the end when Zhalia felt something brush against her hat. Looking back, she found herself beak to face with a bird made of ice. It swooped at her, and she ducked, but then the crow headed for an unsuspecting Dante. The blue-haired woman called his name, and the russet-haired man dodged. The bird flew away.<p>

It returned, however, with friends. Before the team could either notice or take action, a great two-bladed axe flew through the air, smashing all of them. It soared past Loki, and she gasped, looking back with wide eyes. A man stood there.

He was a beefy fellow, with steel grey hair and a small beard. His eyes were as grey as his hair, and were sparkling with laughter. Though grey is the colour of old age, there was nothing weak about this man. Wearing large boots, thick trousers, a jumper and a puffy jacket, the stranger wouldn't have cut such an imposing figure if it wasn't for the axe on his shoulder, the twin to the one now embeded in the ice at the end of the bridge. "Now that's what I call cutting it close." He boomed, his voice as big and coarse as the rest of him.

To the teens' surprise, Dante smiled at the man, and greeted him as an old friend. "Montehue. What a surprise." The amber-eyed man didn't seem surprised at all. If anything, he looked as if he'd expected it.

"Good to see ya, pal." The steely-haired man rumbled. "I've been looking for you and your friends all over this fjord here. Glad I wore me snow boots." Montehue lifted one massive foot, and shook the snow from it with a cheery grin. Dante gave a dry chuckle.

"How did you find out about our mission?" The two teens wandered closer, curiousity lighting up the blue eyes of one, and respect and admiration filling the jade orbs of the other. The grey-eyed man gave a rich laugh, and stepped to one side, revealing a warmly dressed Tersly. The Irish shared a look, before the ginger gave the group before him an apologetic smile.

"H-he bossed it out of me." The small man blushed, and fiddled nervously with the scarf around his neck. The mahogany-haired man at the head of the opposite team shook his head, a rueful grin playing across his angular features.

"I'm sure he did."

"Well," Montehue inturputed, eyes gleaming. "Looks like you found the magic temple. Must not have been easy. Of course, it would have taken me a lot less time."

Surprisingly, the normaly easy-going Loki was riled by the large man, and stepped forwards. "Sorry to interupt, Mr Braggot, but we _are _surrounded by hostile snow cones, thank you very much!" Will shot his friend a quick look, his emerald eyes flickering between the blonde and Tersly. Yep. Her accent was back.

As if on cue, the birds attacked again. Dante and the team made to fight back, but Montehue waved them off. "I'll handle this!" The russet-haired man nodded, and ran down the bridge towards the temple, dragging certain reluctant blonde with him.

* * *

><p>Tersly, for all he had been in worse situations with Montehue, still panicked. As he found himself pecked by two crows, the ginger reached a shaking hand to pull an amulet from his pocket. "Venadek! Venadek! Heeeelp!"<p>

A giant creature sprang forth, his hands curved blades, his eyes amber and sharp. If a dinosaur and a goblin got together, then the result would be Venadek. He was taller than a man, with a hooked scorpian tail. With two swishes of his sword-like hands, the titan destroyed the birds attacking his cowering Seeker. Montehue just hacked at the creatures with his remaining axe.

* * *

><p>The others were running, scattering across the length of the bridge, ducking and diving away from the icy crows. Loki had since split from Dante, and was now running along side Cherit. As she did so, a pair of birds swooped to grab the little titan in their jagged talons. Seeing them come, the blonde pulled the white creature out of the way by his scarf, and the birds missed by a hair.<p>

Cherit gave his azure-eyed companion a thumbs up in thanks, and the pair began to run again. The russet-haired man just behind her stopped, and turned back to the axe-wielding man before him. "Ignatius, attack!" At his words, the round amulet in his hand burst into flames. With a cry, Dante knelt quickly, and thrust his hand at the bridge, and fire rippled along the bridge in a wave. Ignatius rose from the burning torrents, roaring at the icy creatures that flew above him. The fiery titan unleashed his powers upon them, melting them as he had done Ymir's allies earlier that day.

* * *

><p>Soon, the birds soared away, fearing the magma that spewed from the titan. Montehue rested his axe on his shoulder again, and began to walked towards the group, a self-satisfied look on his face. "All I can say is that it's a good thing I was here." Loki gave a disbelieving scoff, and rolled her eyes. Dante rolled his too, calling Ignatius back to his amulet in a stream of flickering tongues of fire.<p>

"I really don't know what we would have done without you." He said dryly. The grey-eyed man gave a deep-throated laugh.

"Come on Vale, I was just yanking your chain a little." The blonde teen laughed softly at the use of her friend's surname in place of his first, and the amber-eyed man sighed. Walking to the end of the bridge, the azure-eyed girl pulled Monethue's axe from the ice, and waved to her teammates. In truth, she was searching the axe for any signs of enchantment. The blonde was fascinated by the idea of mortal weapons being able to defeat titans.

"Sorry to interupt," She called sarcasticly. "But the temple is right here!" A smirk flickered across her mentor's angular features. He knew from experiance that Loki had no patience for braggers or for those who thought they were better just because they were better off. Her arguments with Will had proven that.

"Right." Montehue boomed. "Now that we're all here, we ought to go grab that hammer, no?" Dante gestured for the other man to go first with a sweep of his arm in an over-exagerated bow.

"After you, Monty." He told him, a sarcastic and yet fond smile on his face. The man swaggered past, tucking his axe into the waist band of his trousers and taking the other from the teen glaring at him.

"You're a prince." Tersly scuttled after his employer, a nervous smiled on his face. As they reached the temple's huge, golden doors, they opened. An man stepped out. He had a long beard, was about 6", rather old, and was wearing a hooded, blue cloak. Without seeing the back, the Huntik team knew it would have a design on the back made of a hammer. A Guardian of Thor.

"I see you've made it." The man smiled, but no one relaxed. The smiled was more of a snarl than anything else. "We've been expecting you at our humble temple."

"We noticed." Dante told the man, his eyes watching him warily.

The man nodded, the hood casting his features into shadow. "We were informed that you woudl be arriving soon to be collecting a certain artefact." The russet-haired man across from him frowned. Montehue, for all he thought he was better, knew that in delicate diplomatic situations like this, Dante was the best man for the job.

"That's right." The amber-eyed Seeker said at last. The old man gave a strange huff of satisfaction, then turned away and walked back towards the temple doors, telling the team to follow him.

Loki scooted past Will to stand next to Dante. She hissed his name, getting his attention. "This is the guy from London! Are you sure we should trust this guy?" Zhalia huffed, and answered before the auburn could answer.

"No, I'm not." The mahogany-haired man turned his head to looked at the only women of the group, and whispered.

"We can't get past that door. If he's letting us in, we're going to follow."

The girl smiled, understanding. "But once we're inside..."

Montehue nodded. "All bets are off."

* * *

><p>AN: Since my laptop is on the friz, and it is going to be taken to be fixed tomorrow, I shall be unable to write or update for two weeks, two and a half at most. I am so sorry, but it's unavoidable. Bye for now, my dear readers.<p> 


	23. Chapter 22 Two Powers Become One

AN: Sorry about the wait! Here it is- read, enjoy, and review!

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><p><span>Chapter 22- Two Powers Become One Part 1<span>

The Guardian led them into the temple, pausing at the doors to let them past. Once everyone was though, he waved a hand, which glowed blue, and the massive stone doors shone with the same blue light along its carvings before it swung shut. Loki kept walking, but still winced at the heavy slam. Kipperin winced inside his amulet, flooding the Bond with his dislike of enclosed spaces, and his longing for freedom. His Seeker hushed him with a few soothing words, but in truth, she didn't want to be there any more than he did.

The hooded man walked towards the team, who had stopped because they didn't know the way, and the azure-eyed girl was sure she wasn't the only one that tensed and expected a fight. She held her breath as he got closer, but the Guardian just kept walking till he was at the head of the group. "This way." He rumbled, before leading them on into the maze of corridors that made up The Temple of Thor.

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><p>They finally reached a domed hall, the curved ceiling supported by one gigantic stone pillar. Where the pillar and roof touched, stone 'petals' stretched from the stem-like column to the edges of the dome, the triangles left behind filled with an orange substance quite like amber. The walls were made of slabs of golden rock, every inch covered with Norse symbols and writing. Though she was scared and worried, Loki looked around in awe and wonder. How had the Norse managed to create a place like this without machinery?<p>

The team's guide stopped, and held out a hand to prevent them from going any further. "If you'd be so kind as to wait here," The old man gave a grim smile. "My master will receive you in a moment." The blonde teen shifted uneasily on the balls of her feet as he disappeared through one of the many archways in the room.

"I thought their master was Thor?" She muttered to herself, eyes darting to and fro in apprehension. Dante nodded, with amber eyes wary.

"Form a defensive perimeter." The team made a circle around the russet-haired Seeker, who remained where he was and pulled his holotome from one of his many pockets. "Holotome," He commanded it, "Build a map of the temple based on what we can see." The machine glowed a vibrant green, and set to.

As the holotome completed the map, the group kept a vigilant watch on the passages leading to the hall. Now that the excitement had died down somewhat, Loki was beginning to wish she hadn't lost her coat in the fight against Ymir. The Icelandic cold was present even in the temple. Not wanting to seem weak in front of the newcomers, the azure-eyed girl shivered in silence, hugging herself to keep warm. However hard she tried, it obviously wasn't good enough to fool Cherit, who, after a moment of watching the teen, flew over and wrapped himself around her neck like a scarf. The blonde smiled her thanks to the little titan, glad for the hot-water-bottle-like warmth he gave her.

A loud beep echoed around the chamber as the holotome finished its scan. "Here's the situation." Dante called his team to him, and they huddled around the screen. "There are two exits. If they attack, we break through here. Will and Loki, you cover our backs." The teens nodded, glad to have something to do, and the group followed the golden-eyed man as he led the way to the exit he had pointed out of his holotome.

Montehue gave a rueful grin, and pulled his axes from his belt. "I prefer to improvise." He rumbled.

A scuffling sound came from the passage the Guardian had taken, and Loki turned from where she was standing at the back of the group to see their guide reappear, a bald man wearing a puffy ski coat at his side. The white-haired old man scoffed, and called mockingly across to the Huntik team.

"Apparently we over estimated your intelligence, Dante Vale." The auburn weaved his way past his teammates to stand at the head of the group once more, facing his enemies head on. Behind him, he heard Loki whispering to the white titan about her neck.

"They just insulted his intelligence, and used his last name. I give them a minute, maybe two." As Cherit agreed, Dante felt a smirk tug at the corners of his lips at the blonde's words. The girl was right- he didn't care much for these men, or for their chances. The bald one especially- he was a tad on the chubby side. Said man stepped forwards, obviously not noticing the dark glares on the faces of his opponents. Maybe it was something to do with the fact he was wearing sunglasses indoors?

"This temple is under the control of the Organization!" Baldy cried, clearly expecting some sort of reaction from the Huntik team. He got nothing, just cold and empty gazes met his statement. "And you," The man continued, trying and failing to be sinister, "Have just walked into your tomb."

A short, harsh laugh echoed around the dome ceiling. "If this giant place is a tomb just for Dante, then you'll have to build a few more for the rest of us!" Loki was in her classic annoyed pose- hands on hips, and death glare on her face. The appearance of several hundred more Guardians did nothing to diminish her anger, and if anything made it worse. The sapphire-orbed teen hated the Organization more than she could say, and relished any chance to fight them. She was anxious for her teammates' safety though- there were an awful lot of the cloaked menaces...

Baldy still seemed to think he had the upper hand, for all he was facing down Dante Vale _and _Montehue. "Surrender now, and you may be shown mercy." The Huntik Seekers stiffened, knowing full he meant no mercy at all. "If you don't," The Organization man gave what he obviously thought was an evil smile. "You won't live to regret it." By now, the team had been surrounded by the hooded men, but no one was ruffled in the slightest, except the ever fearful Tersly.

Dante stepped forwards, his eyes the same colour as the magnificent dome above the teams' heads, and sparking with laughter. "What do you think?" The mahogany-haired man tilted his head in Montehue's direction, asking as if the fight was an invitation to a party, or some other casual event. "Surrender?" The auburn asked his old friend.

The grey-haired Seeker considered the question for a moment. "Yeah, sure." He boomed, his tone as care-free as his companion's. "Oh, wait!" Montehue said suddenly. "Got a museum lecture on Thursday, I can't."

The pair shared a devilish smile. "Oh, too bad." The russet-haired man said to his steely eyed friend. "Then, we fight." With identical battle cries, the twosome charged the Guardians, making the bald man jump.

* * *

><p>With a quivering finger, Baldy ordered his minions to attack, and the battle commenced. From where she, Will, Tersly and Zhalia were standing at the fringe, Loki watched with bright eyes. "It's cool being a Seeker!" She grinned. "You explore strange new cultures, and get attacked by them!" Will rolled his emerald eyes, and Zhalia just ignored the comment, her coffee coloured orbs focused entirely on the fight. The blonde sighed, and pulled Freelancer's shield-like amulet from her belt-pouch. Almost immediately, it began to glow.<p>

"Alright, let's do it!" She cried, sharing her titan's happiness at a chance to fight. "Come to me, Freelancer!" The armored titan did as his mistress bid, appearing in a flash of blue light. He stood by his Seeker, unwilling to leave her unprotected, for all he longed to charge into the battle.

The brunette behind her, not wanting to be out done, raised the visor-like amulet that belonged to Sabriel to the curved ceiling, calling for the titan within to defend them. The two titans kept the Guardians at bay, leaving their Seekers able to concentrate their powers elsewhere.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Dante and Montehue were storming towards the lead Guardian and the bald Organization member. Dante, being lighter than his heftier companion, reached them first. Just as he neared the Guardian, the hooded man lifted a hand, glowing icy blue.<p>

"Thundercut!" He yelled, swinging at the auburn's head. The golden-eyed man ducked, skidded to knock the man's feet out from under him then, ending up on his back as the man fell, used his own feet the push the Guardian up and over his head. Sitting up, the Huntik Seeker was still grinning, enjoying himself much more than a weaker Seeker would have done.

Montehue charged past the russet-haired man, swinging one of his axes with a mighty roar. Baldy looked scared, and rummaged in his pockets, pulling out a Jokoul amulet and summoning the creature inside. "Freeze them, Jokoul!" He squeaked, cowering behind the amulet as the stone-clawed monster burst forth.

"Freeze me, hey?" The axe-wielding Seeker boomed, a wild smile on his face. "I'm just getting warmed up!"

* * *

><p>Sabriel and Freelancer were beginning to be overwhelmed by the shear amount of enemies against them. The pink-haired woman barely managed to dodge a Thundercut, and the medieval-styled titan took a punch to his helmeted head, carrying on regardless, too lost in the fight to notice.<p>

Loki was putting her week's training to use, lashing out at the Guardians as best as she was able. As she sent a Boltflare to knock a few over like bowling pins in an alley, she allowed herself a quick smile. She'd been right- these men were stronger than suits, and her power had still knocked them down. "Take that, Will!" She thought. In the newly made pause in the fighting, the blonde teen had a chance to look around. Montehue was still fighting the Jokoul, each swinging at the other and missing, till Dante ended the fight by jumping over Montehue and smashing into the titan's face.

Hearing a shrill cry, the azure-eyed girl looked around for the source, expecting it to be Cherit by its pitch. She was surprised to see that it was Tersly, who was watching with wide eyes as a Guardian ran towards him. It seemed Zhalia had spotted the ginger's problem too, for she ran to the man's aid, striking down the cloaked figure with a kick to the face.

"I thought all Foundation Seekers were meant to be brave!" The blue-haired woman snapped at the cowering Irish, before turning back to the fight. A pair of Guardians had clambered back up of the floor, and had rushed at the nearest target- Zhalia and Tersly. The cold, coffee-eyed Seeker sent them flying with a Touchram.

With a sigh of relief, Loki looked around again, seeing that they'd all fought their way towards the exit. "We've fought them long enough!" She called to Dante, who was still dashing into the thick of it with Montehue. "Let's go!" Her mentor nodded, and began to fight his way back out of the scrum. The grey-haired man by his side followed suit.

"It's nice fighting side by side with ya, Dante," He said after a moment, and the russet-haired Seeker next to him looked at him with surprise. Seeing this, Montehue gave a rumbling laugh, and shook his head. "We're still in competition. I'm bringing Mjollnir back, and don't you forget it!" Dante shot his old friend a rueful smile.

"Oh, I won't." He grew serious. "But our friends come first." Montehue nodded, and the pair fought their way to the exit.

* * *

><p>Zhalia had begun to fight her way to the archway as well, not noticing that Tersly was still frozen with fear at the pillar. Loki and a Guardian saw him at the same time, and raced to get to him first. A group of the hooded men blocked the blonde teen from going to his aid, and she growled with frustration, not realizing that she was beginning to glow a faint blue. The light burst from her in a violent wave, knocking all the Guardians before unconscious. The blonde stumbled back, looking around to see it anyone had seen the merciless display of power. Azure met amber, and Dante felt his heart brake at the fear and pain in the girl's eyes.<p>

The Guardian reached Tersly first, knocking him down with a Thundercut. Montehue, hearing the ginger's yell of pain, turned back from the exit, calling his friend's name. Spotting the boyish man, he ploughed through the cloaked men with a few well placed Dragonfists.

The young Irish tried to scramble away, but the Guardian looming over him gave a toothy grin, and picked him up by his scrawny throat with one hand, the other glowing with another Thundercut.

Just before the man could strike, Montehue smashed into him. The Guardian let go of Tersly as he went flying back, right into the pillar. The massive column splintered into three and came crashing down to the floor.

Everyone froze, and gazed with mounting horror at the ceiling. Long, thin cracks were winding their way around where the column joined with the ceiling, where one large chunk still remained fixed to the dome. With nothing to support it, the roof was beginning to cave in! Seeing the danger, the Guardians disappeared in a flare of blue light, leaving the Huntik team to find their own way out.

Dante waved to the nearest exit. "Everyone, out!" His team followed him as huge pieces of rock fell from the crumbling ceiling. Not seeing Montehue beside her, Loki looked around. A scrap of green caught her eye, and she gasped.

"Tersly!" The ginger was out cold on the floor near where the pillar had been, right where the rocks were falling most heavily. The blonde turned back at once, ducking and dodging tumbling blocks as she fought to reach her countryman's side. Diving and rolling out the way of one rock, she ended up on the wrong side of the hall to both Tersly _and _the door. She lay there for a moment, trying to catch her breath on the dusty air, but lay there a moment too long, and a rock fell on her, trapping her leg. She gave a hoarse yell, but the loud crashes of the falling chunks of the roof drowned it out.

Montehue had also seen his assistant's motionless form, and had darted towards it as fast as the debris and his weight would let him. He reaching him, he scooped the ginger up. Looking around he realized that he wouldn't be able to get to the exit with Tersly weighing him down. Seeing Dante about to go through the arch, the beefy man called to him, making the mahogany-haired Seeker spin around. "Catch!" He cried, flinging the Irish lad to him with no further warning. Golden eyes stretched wide, but their owner caught Tersly none the less. Dante quickly ran into the passageway beyond, protecting his burden.

* * *

><p>Loki was still scrabbling desperately at the rock on her foot, too scared of the rest of her being crushed to notice the pain, kicking at it with her other foot, looking up at the ceiling with terror. She flung a Boltflare at it, panicking now, and cursed when it wasn't strong enough. Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder made her jump, and Montehue was at her side.<p>

"Come on, lass!" He bellowed above the noise. "Let's get you out of there!" Lips a white line in her pale face, the teen nodded, blue eyes wide with fear and pain. The grey-haired man flung himself at the rock, and the blonde bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. He stopped, seeing that moving the rock the conventional way would both take too long and only hurt Loki more. "Dragon fist!" He yelled after a moment's thought, punching the hunk of roof again and again, turning it into dust. As soon as the rock was gone, the azure-eyed girl made to leap to her feet, still not trusting Montehue entirely, but she stumbled, wincing, and the hefty Seeker beside her half-picked her up, reminding her of the way Dante had carried them over the rooftops of Venice almost a month ago.

"Steady, lass. I got ya." Montehue raced across the room as fast as he was able, but just as they reached the archway where the rest of the team had gone, a fall of rocks blocked it up. The grey-haired Seeker looked about, trying to remember which other distant archway was a door and not just an arch, when, to his surprise, the girl under his arm pointed to the one opposite.

"That one!" She gasped. "That's the right one." Nodding, Montehue charged at it with a fierce roar, and they skidded inside just as another rock fall covered the entrance. The pair lay there for a second, panting, before the blonde pulled herself away from her companion till her back was against the wall, watching him with wary eyes. The steely eyed man wondered what he had done or said to make the teen distrust him, and decided to break the ice a little.

"There, now. That wasn't so bad, was it?" The icy blue eyes didn't soften, but she did reply.

"Sure. I love a cave in once in a while. How 'bout you?" Smiling at the progress he had made, the beefy man stood up, brushing dust off his puffy jacket.

"Life and death situations are good for the heart." He boomed. Suddenly, the girl began to look about her franticly.

"Cherit? Where's Cherit?" Montehue had no idea what she was on about, till a small white titan popped his head over her shoulder.

"I'm right here, lass." As Montehue stared at the first talking titan he had ever seen, the blonde sighed, and leant her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. Though he would never admit it, her companion was glad to get away from that piercing stare.

"So," He rumbled after a nervous pause. "I never did catch ya name back there." One cerulean eye cracked open, glowing against her alabaster skin.

"Loki Lambert. I joined the Foundation about a month ago." Her voice, however hostile it was, betrayed the pain her ankle was giving her. Montehue didn't want to waste time, but he knew that she wouldn't be able to go far, and that he couldn't leave her here for the Guardians to find, so he sat down opposite her, ready to wait till she trusted him enough to let him have a look at her foot.

"What ya doing with Vale, then? Why aren't ya training with the other newbies?"

The azure-eyed teen gave a sad sigh. "It's a long story. I may as well tell you now, before you go getting the wrong idea from some gossiping busybody." The man opposite her stifled a laugh, and she gave him a crooked smile. There was a moment's silence whilst the blonde figured out where to start. "My father was a Seeker, and he went missing six years ago, but I've never given up hope of finding him." As the pair sat there, she told him of that first day, and they laughed at her jumping into the canals, and at the way Dante had lured the Organization from his house. Finally, the story was over, and Montehue nodded.

"That does sound like him, saving damsels in distress, taking in waifs and strays." Loki sighed, and gave him a sad smile.

"He did more than take me in. He's saved my life more than once, and not just in the conventional way. Without him, I might never have had the life I have now." Closing her eyes, she missed the way Montehue started at her words. With a happy sigh, the blue eyes opened again. "I think it'll work now." She muttered to Cherit, and the grey-haired man across from her frowned, confused, before she cried: "Everfight!"

Floating to her feet, wreathed in flames, the girl gave a happy smile. The flames died down, then disappeared, and she tested putting her weight on her foot. "That's better." She murmured, her ankle healed.

Montehue straightened up, grinning. "Right then." He boomed, turning to face the corridor ahead. "We're running short on time." Loki nodded.

"We need to find the others." She said, a worried glint in her eyes as she wondered what had happened to them. Montehue began to walk down the corridor.

"We'll find them later, after I lay claim to Mjollnir." Loki stared after him, wondering how anyone could care more about a hammer than their friends.

* * *

><p>AN: What I still don't understand about this bit is why Lok just suddenly cowers on the floor when he runs to help Tersly. One minute, woosh, he's gonna get there and save that puny ginger, next, bam, he's sniviling on the floor. What happened there? And where did the Guardians go when the roof started to go? Did they use pixie dust to fly away?<p>

I tried to answer these questions in mine, but I still wonder what happened in the original...


	24. Chapter 23 Two Powers Become One Part 2

AN: Here it is people! Next chappie!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 23- Two Powers Become One Part 2

Back with the rest of the team, Zhalia was losing her patience with Tersly. The ginger was crouched on the floor, shivering, and rocking back and forth, muttering about how he was claustrophobic. Both Dante and Will were crouched beside him, the brunette patting Tersly's shoulder, and telling him it would be alright. The older Seeker was just watching with compassion.

Finally, the blue-haired woman snapped. "The cave-in is long past us boy, so man up and calm down!" The Irish nodded, still shivering, but more scared of Zhalia than the tons of stone and rock that surrounded him. Dante helped him to his feet, supporting him when he stumbled, having not yet recovered from his beating from the Guardian. As the group got ready to move on, Will looked back over his shoulder at the pile of rocks blocking the way to the now roofless hall.

"Dante?" He said at last, jade eyes filled with a worry that was reflected in his mentor's amber ones. "You don't think Montehue, Cherit and Loki were...crushed in there, do you?" The teen glanced back at the russet-haired Seeker, before he turned back to the archway. The auburn gave a reasuring smile, but it soon faded as the entire team looked at the rock fall.

"I'm sure they're fine." The man told his student, but a tremor in his voice showed how slim the pair's chances were. Tersly picked up on the older man's doubts, and looked up at Dante with wide, silver eyes.

"With all due respect, it looked pretty grim. How can you be sure?" The amber-eyed man gave a crooked smile.

"Because, knowing my luck, Montehue will be following me round till I'm old and grey." Even Will laughed at that, and the sound echoed along the passage, lifting the spirits of the disheartened team.

Zhalia gave a wicked smile. "Now that's the kind of pessimistic optimism a girl can believe in!" Dante shot her a thankful grin, his doubts at his other student's safety still lingering in his golden eyes.

The group gave the cave-in one last, long look before starting down the corridor. "Regardless, we have to get moving." They walked on down the seemingly endless passage. It seemed like they were going nowhere, save for the fact the rock-slide was getting further away. Finally, the tunnel ended in a door. It was made of gold, with intricate carvings lining the edge. There was no handle, and in the centre was a white symbol, raised of the rest of the door. It looked similar to a sheep's skull, with a long, thin muzzle and curling horns. The group stopped, and Dante leant against the wall, making no move to move past the latest obsticle.

Suddenly, voices echoed down the corridor. "I think I heard voices this way, sir!" It was a Guardian, and by the sounds of it, the bald man too. Almost immediately, Tersly began to shiver again.

"Oh no!" He muttered over and over to himself, wide eyes looking back the way they had come. Zhalia sighed, noticing Dante's wicked grin.

"Is this part of your plan, Dante?" She asked, reminding them both of her first mission with them. The devilish smile grew wider.

"Actually, yes!" A few distant figures appeared around the bend.

"There they are! The infidels have nowhere to run!" Will, his emerald eyes wide, took a step back. The few men had become an army, and were getting closer.

Seeing this, Dante took a step back from the door, and cried: "Touchram!" Sending a bolt of vibrant green to blast a large hole in the door, destroying the skull-like image that was there. The group climbed through the hole to the rocky tunnel on the other side.

As they went, a Guardian yelled. "They've breached the seal!"

* * *

><p>Beyond the door was a tunnel quite like that at the beginning of the Catacombs. The walls were lined with crystals and frost, and lumonious lichen filled the crags. Zhalia looked back the way they had come, the light making her indigo hair seem lighter than usual. "I don't understand.." She murmured after a moment. "Why aren't they following?"<p>

Dante looked back, a clever smile playing across his angular features. "Because they're followers." Will rolled his eyes at the auburn's attempt at a joke. Growing serious, the amber-eyed man explained. "This area of the temple is forbidden."

"But why?" The coffee-orbed Seeker asked, her voice low and quiet. "Is there something...they're afraid of?" The russet-haired man nodded.

"That's right. And its kept down here." He turned, and carried on walking. Tersly gave a little shriek.

"Oh no! Out of the frying pan, and into the fire!" Behind his glasses, his grey eyes darted here and there, seeing danger everywhere he looked.

Will was hardly listening, and was instead studying the cave walls. "I can't believe it!" He muttered. "It seems like the very walls..." He touched them, and they glowed a electric blue, and he stopped talking, their vibrant colour reminding him of Loki's eyes.

"Are laced with magic." Tersly finished, pausing in his nervous mumblings long enough to say something sane. Zhalia looked from the walls to Dante, who was watching it all with a grave look in his amber eyes. Narrowing her eyes, she faced him, glaring.

"What for?" She didn't even both asking him if he knew- the look on his face was answer enough.

The mahogany-haired man sighed and looked away. "A power source for titan to act independently whilst its Seeker is gone." Will span around, his eyes like saucers.

"A wild titan? I didn't think that it was possible for them to exist!" His mentor gave a rueful smile. For some reason, it didn't surprise him that Will knew about wild titans. He was a Casterwill, after all. Tersly started going beserk again.

"What kind of titan?" He yelped, dancing on the spot, eyes flickering around, looking for the slightest signs of movement. The answer that came hardly surprised any of them.

"A very dangerous one."

* * *

><p>Back with the missing trio, Montehue was guiding his younger companion with a confidence she doubted he possesed. They ended up in a gigantic hall, the walls made of golden rock, and covered in symbols and writing, just as the domed hall had been. The walls were lined with twin staircases, and above the stairs were a multitude of doors. The floor was riddled with staircases that led into small pits, but nowhere else. As Loki stared about her in amazement, one symbol caught her eye.<p>

A woman, her midnight-hair filled with stars, her skin was moonbeams, and her eyes were the colour of the horizon, half-way between sunset and night. Words surrounded her in a circle. It was those words that made Loki double take. Kona-Loki. Her name, mixed in amongst those Norse words. The blonde suposed that it was the god Loki, but there was something about that woman that made her look again. The curve of the lips, the tilt of the head. Shaking her head, she tore her eyes away. She was imagining things...

A shout came from behind them. "I heard noises from the Great Hall!" Cherit looked about him curiously.

"I wonder where the Great Hall is. We should probably avoid it." Loki rolled her eyes.

"This is the Great Hall, silly! They're headed right for us!" Beside her, Montehue nodded determindly. He grabbed her arm and pulled her across the room to the nearest hole in the floor.

"Down here!" He cried, pushing her down first before ducking down himself. He was met with an icy stare, but the girl remained silent, soon turning to anxiously watch the top of the staircase instead.

The azure-eyed teen sighed, hearing the sounds of footsteps fade away. "There's no way out. There's just too many of them." She muttered, half to herself. The grey-haired man beside her grinned, a spark lighting his eyes up from the inside.

"Seekers always find a way." Loki bowed her head.

"Yeah, sure." Thoughts of the wave of light that she had used to knock out the Guardians earlier filled the young girl's mind, and she wondered if Seekers found ways, or hurt people to make them. With Dante, the answer was obvious that he would never hurt people without reason, but the blonde couldn't see Montehue caring about others. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "How did you meet Dante? You guys don't seem to have anything in common!"

Montehue gave her a crooked smile. "I'm a devout student of the history of war." Loki snorted.

"That figures." She felt the corners of her lips tip up, and motioned for the man to go on with a wave of her hand.

"I spent my youth collecting its artefacts, and whilst exploring a hidden ruin in Death Valley, I encountered your mentor, Dante Vale. From the moment I laid eyes on him, two things were clear. He was a great man, but I was determined to be better."

Azure eyes were rolled, and the teen muttered something along the lines of "Childish men." under her breath. Montehue chuckled, then continued his story.

"We were searching for the same artefact, and as we raced up a mountain, I had no idea Dante had given me an amulet. I supose that was his idea of keeping things fair and square. True to my nature, it wasn't long before I found myself in a very percerious position. Just when all seemed lost, Dante came to my rescue. And though he had taken my victory from me, he'd given me something far more precious." The blonde smiled genuinely at Montehue for the first time.

"The amulet?" She asked, and the steely-eyed man nodded.

"Once my hand touched that amulet, my life changed. The rascal opened my eyes to the world of titans, and I've been a Seeker ever since. Like you, in more ways than one, I owe him my life. The one I almost lost, and the one I live now." Tilting her head to one side, the teen gave a soft laugh.

"There does seem to be a recuring theme here." She looked at him for a moment, her blue eyes dark with sorrow, before shaking her head and clearing her gloomy mood. "If you like Dante so much, you two should work together."

Montehue was quick to object. "Never. We've become friends through good, clean competition." A smile quirked at the man's lips, and his eyes grew distant, remembering that fateful day all those years ago. "The scales are even now." He murmured to himself. "I'll be the one to find the prize this time."

Standing, he offered his hand to Loki, and when she took it, pulled her to her feet. "The danger's passed. Let's go!" With Cherit still nestled about her shoulders, the blonde followed Montehue back into the twisting tunnels of the temple.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Dante and the others had reached the end of the rocky tunnel, and entered a man made room. Doorways lined the walls, but it was dominated by a stone snake that was curled up on one wall, surrounded by gold plates covered with carvings. Will was instantly drawn to it, and walked over. He stretched out a hand to touch it, but stopped before reaching it, a circle of blue light encasing the snake when his hand got near.<p>

"This sculpture has magical properties too!" The Casterwill cried, his ability to sense auras giving him the knowedge. He waved his hand, and the snake moved too, causing the jade-eyed boy to think of Loki. Dante nodded as he padded over, holding his holotome open in front of him.

"It's part of a puzzle, the key to finding the hammer of Thor." He paused as a low rumbling echoed along the corridor. Tersly looked at the ceiling in fear.

"Oh no! Another cave-in!" Golden eyes grave, the russet-haired Seeker holding the holotome shook his head.

"It looks like we're not alone." Tersly quivered like a leaf, backing into a corner, grey eyes wide as saucers.

Zhalia snorted, tossing her midnight-hair over her shoulder. "Your bad luck seems to be holding up." The holotome, its screen alight with a 3D map of the temple, picked up on the titan moving swiftly towards them, and identified it as Fenris- a large wolf-like titan, whose special ability was Fury Attack.

Dante sighed, his head bowed. "Great..." A loud bang behind them shocked gasps of fear and shock from all, and the group span to face the way the titan was coming.

Tersly gave a little scream, backing away from the door. "The strongest of all Norse monsters! What should we do?"

The little group huddled together, seeking the safety of numbers, and their amber-orbed leader held his hand out as if to shield the brunette behind him. He'd already lost Loki that day, he was not prepared to lose Will too! "Just stay ca-"

He broke off as a towering, destructive force barrelled into the tiny room, filling the space with its mighty presence and fearsome roar. Fenris was just as the holotome had desribed him- a large, grey-furred, human-like wolf wearing Norse armour, his front paws like great, hairy hands, each finger tipped with a sharp, black claw. He was as tall as two men, and lithe and well-muscled. Balancing on his massive hind-legs, he howled to the covered sky, beating his chest with his huge paws, and the sound shook the room like an earthquake. Seeing the intruders of his rest, the slit-pupiled eyes of the great wolf narrowed, and he snarled, placing one giant paw close to the team, the claws upon it gleaming darkly. His top lids seemed to be lined with kohl, so dark was the fur there, and when he glared at the Huntik team, his eyes seemed no more than lines on his muzzle.

During this demonstration of anger and rage, even Zhalia had taken a step back. When Fenris took a step forwards, Will gasped, backing up to the wall, and when the titan had roared, Tersly had screamed.

"PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!" The blue-haired woman beside him sighed, and shot him a disgusted glare.

"Way to stay calm Tersly." The Irish was too wrapped up in his fear to notice anything but the glistening trails of drool that dripped from the sharp, gleaming teeth.

"Dante, we have to do something!" The titan howled again, and Tersly paled. Zhalia made a mental change to the ginger's cry.

_"Dante, _you _have to do something, because _I'm _too much of a stupid wimp." _At the sound of terror in the man's voice, Fenris raised his head, as if smelling it on the air. Roaring, the wolf charged, a wild light in his crazed eyes.

"Scatter!" The auburn commanded, and his team oblliged, using various powers to leap out of the way of the titan. Tersly, much as he was with the Guardians, was too scared to move, and merely watched with mounting horror as the bloodthristy maw of the monster grew closer.

Diving back the way he had come, Dante just managed to grab Tersly's collar and yank him away before Fenris took a bite out of him. "Got ya!" The golden-eyed man reasured the frightened man he had rescued. As they landed, the russet-haired Seeker threw the Irish into the air, casting a spell to follow him. "Bubblelift!" A large, blue bubble encased the Seeker, carrying him to safety on the other side of the room.

Meanwhile, Dante tucked and rolled, coming up with a fierce look upon his angular features. "Touchram!" He cried, sending a bolt of vibrant green to smash into the wolf's muzzle. But, when the light had faded, Fenris looked no worse for wear, and if anything looked angrier. Seeing this, the man quickly flipped high into the air, and landed, using the Fenris's head as a springboard to jump away again.

Tersly, who was finding it hard to get out of his bubble, floated over to Will, who popped the blue sphere with a finger. The ginger within fell to earth with a bump. "Nice of you to pop by, Tersly." The Casterwill smirked, taking the Irish's wrist and leading him away as one might lead a child.

As the man and the wolf stared each other down, the pair ran to the exit, closly followed by Zhalia, who turned back when she saw Dante wasn't with them. "Why isn't he using titans?" She asked, exasperated, pulling the spiked amulet of her black knight from a pocket. "Fight, Kilthane!"

The knight leapt forwards, swinging his sword...and stopped as his blade did no damage to the unprotected stomach he had hit, bouncing off as if it had been made of foam. Fenris span, snarling, drool hanging in long trails from his jaws. With one paw, he punched Kilthane in the head, sending him back to his amulet in one fell blow.

The group- bar Dante, who was too busy dodging the swings made by Fenris, and who already knew that would happen- gasped, and Zhalia winced as Kilthane was returned to her in a stream of dusty red. "You'll," The russet-haired Seeker paused to duck under a massive fist. "Only drain your power!"

Will shook his head, and grabbed Zhalia's arm as she went to pull out another amulet. "He's right. Fenris draws its strength from the magic of this temple. You can't defeat it with direct attacks!" He made to say more, but was interupted.

"Go! I'll catch up!" Zhalia and Will immediately made to protest, whilst Tersly slunk to the door.

"But-"

"I'll be fine, just run!"

* * *

><p>Loki, Cherit and Montehue were wondering how long their Guardian-avoiding-luck would hold when it broke, big time. They were walking along a corridor, with the big man trying to be silent, when voices rang out behind them. "There they are! Get the infidels!" Azure eyes wide in her pale face, Loki grabbed her companion's hand, Cherit still safely tucked around her neck, and started running.<p>

"Go!" With a nod, the older Seeker began to lead the way again, and the blonde wondered whether men were like dogs, and had complexes where they had to lead the pack. The trio ran down the hall, the Guardians gaining due to their numbers. Loki thought all hope was lost till they ran through a golden arch, the passage beyond lined with golden carvings. She and Montehue carried on running, stopping only when they realised that the Guardians weren't following.

"They're not following." The colbalt-eyed girl murmured to her companions, and the grey-haired man gave a smug smile.

"That must mean that they're scared to follow us, which means this is a restricted area." They stood there for a moment, catching their breath, each side staring at the other till one Guardian lifted a hand.

"Touchram!" The Huntik Seekers dove out the way. Loki rolled, came up on one knee, her hair flopping over one eye, and speckled with dust and bits of ceiling. A bitter smile flickered across her elven features, and she stood.

"That doesn't mean they can't shoot at us! Come on, let's go!" A gasp rustled through the ranks of the Guardians as she tilted her head back to look at Montehue, who was watching her with the strangest look on his face.

"Wait a moment." He told her, standing slowly. The Guardian who had shot at them had thrown himself on his knees, and the other Guardians were following suit.

"Kona-Loki!" The Guardians called, their faces and voices filled with awe. "Change to your true form, god of mischeif and trickery, lord of fire, husband of Sigyn, father of the wolf, the world serpent, of misteress Hel, of the steed of Odin, Sleipnir, and of Nari."

Backing away slowly, and pulling the blonde with him, Montehue whispered to the shocked teen out of the corner of his mouth."Do you know what on earth they're talking about?"

With a sneer, she turned her head to answer. "I always did think Tersly was the brains of your operation." She gestured to the carvings by the side of the golden arch, the one she had landed near. "The god Loki was a shapechanger, and sometimes took the form of a woman. They called that version of him Kona-Loki, or woman-Loki. Notice anything familiar about their picture of him?" Montehue gave a slow nod.

"It does look a mite like you." Cherit said at last. Loki gave him a crooked smile.

"A mite and my name are all they need, it seems. I have to admit, I would like this better if they weren't calling me a guy."

The Guardians were beginning to get restless. "Why do you run, great one? Do not run from the followers of your mighty brother!" The bald man wrestled his way through the genuflecting minions.

"Get up! She's not a god!" When that didn't work, he tried a different tact. "Don't you remember what he has done! He killed Baldr, and he did not weep for the loss of Odin's son. Because of him, Baldr lies dead in the realms of Hel." Loki turned to Montehue.

"Now would be a good time to run!" She told him, taking his hand, and the trio sped off, leaving the angry shouts of the Guardians behind them.

* * *

><p>They finally stopped inside a tall hall, the sides adorned with weaponry, and a marble pillar in the centre. A silken rope wound its way around the pillar, ending in a tangled knot at its base. Cherit flew from the blonde's shoulder to have a look around.<p>

"As I was saying before, this is a restricted area, so..." Montehue trailed off, a victorious gleam in his silver eyes.

Loki finished his sentence. "Mjollnir is nearby!" A shout echoed down the other corridor that led to the room, and they tensed, fearing the worst. In a way, they were right.

It was Will. "Dante! You have to get out of there!" The cyan-orbed teen gasped, turning to the source of the noise.

"No!" She ran, faster and faster, tripping down the corridors, leaving Montehue and Cherit to catch up on their own.

* * *

><p>AN: Did't see that coming, did ya? Hahahaha! I love surprising you like this! I did surprise you, right?<p> 


	25. Chapter 24 Two Powers Become One Part 3

AN: Sorry it took so long! My internet broke. I am considering buying a new one, but all the problems seem to be coming from outside my house...

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 24- Two Powers Become One Part 3

As Loki raced through the tunnels, she had no idea that Dante was doing the same. Using Hyperstride to keep his momentum turning corners, the russet-haired Seeker was just about managing to keep ahead of the wolf chasing him. Flipping round one bend, he saw the home stretch ahead of him- at the end of the corridor was a thick, wooden door, with Will and Zhalia waiting to slam it shut behind him. Drawing on the last of his considerable strength, he pushed himself a little faster.

Jade and mocha eyes watched with fear. "Come on, Dante!" Will cried, seeing Fenris turn the corner behind his mentor. Lowering his voice, he looked at the Seeker next to him. "He's getting tired, I don't think he can use anymore powers!"

Nodding, Zhalia looked away. "I should be able to help...but I can't!" Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and behind closed lids, her eyes were filled with tortured anguish. Did those years of training mean nothing? Would she have to stand here, after all the promises she had made to stop things like this happening again, and watch her friend die? Her heart clenched at the thought of him dying at all, and it wept at the thought of him dying like this.

Surprising not only the blue-haired woman beside him, but himself too, Will looked away, down the corridor at Dante. "It's not your fault, Zhalia. There's nothing any of us can do- it's up to Dante now." In his mind, he scrabbled for someway to blame her- because everything was Zhalia's fault- but at last he realised the truth in his own words.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, during this heart-felt conversation, Dante was still running for his life, with Fenris gaining every step of the way. When the racing pair were just within a few meters of the door, the wolf reached forwards with a long, wet tounge, catching his prey on the shoulder, and sending him sprawling, slipping on the trail of drool that was soaking his trenchcoat, ending up on his back, face to muzzle with the titan.<p>

Hearing his teammates screaming his name, a fire burned in the amber eyes of the mortal. "Nimblefire!" The auburn yelled, glowing the fiery orange of the sunset. He kicked Fenris just as the wolf went for him, shutting his jaws on empty space with a sickening _'crack',_ and going flying backwards through the open door. Zhalia sighed with relief, then froze as a mighty roar rumbled down the corridor.

"Quick, close the door!" Tersly squeaked from where he was cowering in the corner. With wide eyes, Will and Zhalia pushed against the thick wooden door, heaving desperately as Fenris recovered from his kick to the face, and began charging down the passageway. Just as he reached it, the Huntik team managed to close it, and Tersly darted forwards to slide the bolt home.

Taking sevral deep breath, bent over with his hands on his knees, Dante was feeling very blessed. Straightening up, he looked at the door, and shook his head. "That won't hold for long."

"Hold what?" Spining around, the team prepared to fight, and were instead met with a pair of cyan eyes, and a relieved smile. Loki padded forwards, looking from face to face, searching for injuries.

After what was now becoming the customary thank-goodness-you're-not-dead hugs, it finally registered with Dante that the girl was alone. "Is Montehue...dead?" With a laugh, the blonde shook her head.

"No, I just ran faster than him, s'all. He'll be here in a minute." Footsteps echoed down the corridor, and the beefy man turned the corner, a smirk on his face.

"Worried, Vale?" He boomed, waking the little titan on his shoulder. Cherit flew from Montehue's shoulder to Loki's, smiling broadly. Dante shook his head, glad his old friend was safe.

The little titan perched on Loki's shoulder gave her a stern look. "You gave us quite a scare, running off like that, lass. Didn't we agree to stick together?" Blushing, the teen bowed her head.

"I thought they were in trouble." She explained, gesturing the rest of the team. She stopped, a puzzle-solving glint in her azure eyes as she noticed the anxious looks Zhalia was giving Dante- looks that she had seen Dante give Zhalia in the past. She smiled in her mind, wondering if she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. Tersly nodded, eyes round, and subconsciously moving closer to Montehue.

"You're right- it's just outside the door!" Everyone looked at the wooden barrier between them and almost-certain death. It banged, shocking the two Irish, and a volley of snarls and growls started up as the trapped beast smelt more prey arriving.

Looking between her teammates with wide eyes, Loki looked at the carvings surrounding the door. A wolf. Feeling that she didn't even need to ask, she sighed. "What is it?"

Tersly fiddled with his collar nervously. "In the legends of the Norse gods, there is a tale of a mighty dog, whose strength was unmatched the world over."

The blonde nodded, her guess proven right. "The dog is Fenris, one of the sons of Loki and the giant Angrboða. He was so powerful, that he managed to bite off one of the god Týr's hands."

Will bowed his head, thinking about something he had read in one of his books the night before. "Didn't Thor tie him up with a magic rope?"

Loki smiled, her eyes lighting up. "Well, Thor didn't, but the Æsir did!"

Tersly nodded, his panic making him babble. "He broke the thickest bindings they could make, so they got the dwarves to make a magic rope that couldn't be broken to bind him. They made Gleipnir out of six impossible things- the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the spit of a bird. Fenris got suspicious because it was a silken rope, and refused to be bound unless one of the gods put their hand in his mouth. Týr agreed, and when the gods wouldn't unbind him, he bit of Týr's hand. He was said to have been bound till the end of the world, Ragnarök, when he'd break free, and kill Odin, then get killed by Odin's son, Víðarr."

Everyone had been tuning out Tersly's nervous spouting, and instead focusing on the door, which was now shaking on its hinges, except Loki, who was listening politely to stuff she already knew. Suddenly, she smiled, an idea forming in her mind. "That's it! We need Gleipnir!"

Dante nodded, having been around long enough to know that all the myths were true. "Our survival depends on finding it." The door was beginning to splinter at the bottom from the force of the strikes against it.

Montehue beamed, a smug smile on his face. "No need to fear. If anyone'll find it, Tersly and I will, and I'd wager faster than you." He slapped his assistant on the back with pride, nearly pushing the smaller man over. Dante didn't smile, thinking that survival was too serious for competition.

"We'll see." He said quietly, golden eyes grave, and the pair sped off down the corridor, leaving the Huntik team to it.

Will immediately set to work on the puzzle of the rope's whereabouts, his emerald eyes dark with worry. "I suspect that Gleipnir must be in a hidden room!" His mentor nodded, lost in his own thoughts.

Loki nodded too, looking at the crumbling door with apprehensive eyes. "If they fear Fenris, and I'm sure they do, they would keep Gleipnir close by..." She trailed off, remembering the room where she'd heard Will's shout. There had been a pillar, and there was something wrapped around it...A rope. A long, thin, silk rope! "I know where it is! Follow me!"

She pelted down the corridor, Cherit holding onto her shoulder, Dante at her side, glad that she had taken the school running class that her father had entered her in. On second thoughts, he was the one who had signed her up for karate and gymnastics too. He'd been training her all along. She smiled, glad that her dad was planning to introduce her to the magical world he was part of. Dante noticed the smile, and wondered what was causing it. "So," he asked at last, easily keeping pace with his longer legs. "What happened to you after the cave-in? It took you guys a while to find us."

Her blue eyes fixed on the path ahead, Loki hesitated for a moment, then sighed and answered. "Montehue wanted to get the hammer first, then find you guys. We ran into some Guardians, but ran into a restricted part of the temple, and they wouldn't follow us. They sent powers after us though, but we dodged. I ended up near some carvings of their gods, and one looked kinda like me, so they thought I was their god Loki, who could shapeshift into a woman, and they started worshiping me. Then they got mad 'cause they remembered that Loki killed one of the other gods, so now they hate me instead. All in all, a rather normal day in the life of a Seeker." Dante raised his eyebrows, a rueful grin on his face.

"Only you, Loki, only you."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Montehue and Tersly were following the directions of an old journal the ginger had brought with him. As the smaller man read out loud, the hefty Seeker beside him ran his hands over the walls, searching for a secret passage. "We should be getting clo-" Tersly broke off as another voice rang down the corridor.<p>

"I may have underestimated you once, but I'll not make that mistake again." It was Baldy again, an army of Guardians at his back. He gave a nasty smile, eyes searching for something that wasn't there. He waved a hand, and a few of the Guardians at the back of the group split off, and left, purpose in their steps. "And now," The hairless man went on. "There's no one here to help you."

Montehue crossed his arms, steel-grey eyes hard and cold. "What makes you think I need help?" Tersly, backing away, gave a little gasp of fright. There was another army of Guardians at the other end of the corridor! "You're the one who'll need an army to get the better of me." The bigger man rumbled, having not noticed the reinforcements. With a shaking hand, his assistant shook his employer's shoulder, and pointed down the passage. The grey-haired man nodded, and turned back to the bald man, who was grinning.

"Fortunatly, I happened to bring one! Get them!" He pointed at the Huntik pair, and the Guardian's advanced, their hands glowing the icy blue of Thundercut. Montehue watched them come, pulling his axes from his belt.

* * *

><p>A few corridors away, the rest of the team reached the weapon room where Loki had first seen Gleipnir. Gasping, the group gathered around the stone pillar. Unnecessarily, the blonde pointed to the silken, thread-like rope that was wound around the base. "There." She panted, hair flopping into her eyes in a way that made Will's fingers itch to tuck it behind her ear.<p>

In order to quell this sudden desire, the Casterwill stepped forwards to place a hand before the rope. A pink bubble swelled from it, pulsing with magic. "I'm sensing a strong magical aura." Will said, his eyes closed to see what was not there. "This is definitely the rope Gleipnir!"

Quickly, Zhalia knelt to undo the knot tying it down, but the harder she pulled, the tighter it became. Loki sighed, looking at the knot with a strange mix of acceptance and laughter. "I should have seen this coming." She said after a moment. "That's how it trapped Fenris the first time. The harder _he _pulled against it, the tighter it got. It's not going to give this way." Cherit flew to sit atop the pillar, gazing down on his human companions worriedly.

A thunderous bang, followed by an almighty roar echoed down the corridor, and Dante's head snapped up, eyes wary. "He's broken through." He said to the shocked silence. The blue-haired Seeker knelt before the pillar turned from Gleipnir just long enough to give him a glare.

"This knot isn't going to be untied anytime soon." She snapped, tugging at the rope. Loki put her hands in her pockets, head bowed, eyes distant with thought. As her hand brushed against something tucked in her left pocket, she smiled.

"We need a master of tricks and traps." The blonde cried, pulling the purple, two-tailed amulet from her pocket. "Help us, Springer!" Black shadows streamed from the amulet, gathering around the azure-eyed girl's shoulder. When they cleared, Springer was sat there, purple eyes bright with mischief.

_"You call, puzzler-lady?"_ He asked her across the bond, looked around the room in interest. _"What puzzle do you have for me?"_ His Seeker pointed to Gleipnir.

"We need you to undo that knot- Fenris is coming, and this is the only thing that can bind him!" Springer nodded, understanding that however menial the task was, it was important to his Seeker, and leapt forwards. A pink flash erupted from the rope, and he squeaked, backing away.

"_This thing is protected by old, old magic. It is guarded against titans like me- the Seeker must solve the riddle alone, yes, yes, alone. Have to prove their worth, else Gleipnir shall not budge, not an inch!_" With one claw-like finger, he pointed to an inscription in Old Norse above Gleipnir.

Loki knelt down, eyes worried. Zhalia snorted. "That little thing's useless- he can't even undo a simple knot." Springer glared at the woman, chittering his anger, and leapt for her. The teen holding his amulet quickly grabbed him, holding him against her chest as he scrabbled to get at Zhalia.

"Can anyone here read Old Norse?" She asked, struggling with the squirrel-like titan. When everyone shook their heads, she sighed. "Springer, can _you _read Old Norse?" He nodded, and when the cobalt-orbed Seeker let him go, he crept cautiously up to the pillar, keeping his distance.

"_Worth is only as powerful as you perceive. Choose your weapon, warrior- the sharpest sword, the quickest mind, or the smallest and biggest thing in the world. The strongest can undo Gleipnir, if you are worthy of its stren-"_ Pink flared from Gleipnir, striking Springer back to his amulet with a squeak. "_Ooooops. Sorry, puzzler-lady. Got too close._"

Loki smiled, told him it was okay, then repeated the riddle to her teammates. Zhalia immediately said the sword, and Will the mind. Dante said nothing, and instead watched the corridor anxiously. Suddenly, he walked away, stopping in front of the passage they had come from. His emerald-eyed student stopped his argument with the others, and padded after him.

When the auburn saw the brunette beside him, he sighed. "We have to make our stand here." Will held back a gasp, but nodded and stood firm.

Back with the girls, Loki was thinking about the third item that had been offered. "What's the smallest and biggest thing in the world?" She asked Zhalia suddenly, but the blue-haired woman hadn't the slightest idea. A roar echoed down the hall, much louder than before.

"Knot or not, he's almost on us!" Dante warned as another, louder howl sounded throughout the temple. A thunderous banging, rhythmic and dangerous, thudded through the floor, and the wolf-like titan skidded around the corner, hitting the wall in his haste to get at the Huntik team.

"The smallest and biggest thing," The blonde teen in front of the pillar cried. "It's love!"

The auburn ducked as the wolf jumped over him and Will in one massive bound, heading straight for the pair at the pillar. Fear gripped the russet-haired Seeker's heart as he saw the huge creature going after Loki and Zhalia- for some reason, he wasn't sure which of the women he was scared for the most... "Scatter!" He yelled, pulling his male student to his feet.

Loki, as per usual, didn't listen, instead focusing on the problem at her feet. Repeating words that Springer told her, she answered the riddle. "I choose the strongest of the three- love is my weapon, beside me till the end of days!" The knot glowed violet, pulsating and squirming, undoing itself in answer to the blonde's shout.

Feeling hot breath down her neck, the girl turned around slowly, eyes wide as she saw Fenris for the first time. His presence was intense, like a dog that is always on the hunt, forever alert. His bluey-black eyes meeting the cyan ones of the mortal before him, the wolf stopped snarling, sniffing the girl curiously. She tilted her head back, away from the rotten-meat smell of the wolf's jaws. The team held their breath, hearts in mouths.

"Loki!" Dante hissed, creeping closer. "Throw me the rope." His sharp ears hearing the golden-eyed Seeker's whisper, Fenris span around, the spell broken. He growled furiously, keeping the blonde behind him, more like a wolf than ever. Nodding to his teammates, Dante threw a Touchram at the titan, with Zhalia and Will following it with Raypulses. The wolf sat up on his back legs, swiping at his blinded eyes. After a confused moment, where the three members of the Huntik team attacking the titan yelled for Loki to run, and where she yelled something back that was lost in the pained howling of the wolf, Fenris closed his eyes, relying on his superior smell and hearing to find the Seekers.

He swiped at Dante, who used Hyperstride to jump away, and the wolf followed him, his great head swinging round after the fast moving auburn. In the process, his massive tail struck the blonde trapped behind him, sending her flying. She landed awkwardly, rolling to a stop near the wall, holding her head dizzily. With a terrible howl, Fenris leapt after her, ignoring Dante, and stood over her, swiping at any and all who came near.

Suddenly, a yell came from the pillar. With Fenris gone, crouching in front of Loki by the wall, Will had darted forwards to grab Gleipnir. He threw it to Dante, one end still tied to the marble post. The older man caught it deftly, then looped it around the wolf's head.

"I'm sending you to the pound," The amber-orbed Seeker told the snarling titan. "On a leash!" Cherit flew from where he had been hiding in the hallowed ceiling, flitting above the wolf, crying. "Catch me! Catch me!" Fenris reared up, trying to grab the small titan with his hand-like paws, leaving the rest of him exposed.

Soon, the wolf had been hog-tied, his mouth clamped shut, and his entire being pulled away from the still dizzy Loki. With Dante on one side, and Will and Zhalia on the other, they began to pull the rope tight. As they did, Fenris began to writhe, glowing a deep amethyst. Whimpers escaped past his clenched teeth, and tears sprung to his eyes.

All at once, a sharp voice rang out behind them. "STOP!"

It was Loki, glowing faintly blue, her outline flickering with mist. "Stop. Now. Look at yourselves!" She marched forwards, anger blazing like fire in her eyes. "If you hurt this titan, you are no better than the Organization!" In the stunned silence that followed, she knelt beside the wolf, gently stroking its muzzle.

Zhalia was the first to recover, giving an exasperated sigh. "It attacked us. We fought back. What's so wrong about that? Eat or be eaten, girl." The azure eyes of the blonde snapped to glare at the blue-haired Seeker.

"No." She whispered, looking at the floor, then louder, standing up. "No!" She walked over to the pillar, crouching down to look at the riddle again. "I understand now- Gleipnir is about worth, and the strength of love. The riddle isn't just about gaining power, it's also a lesson about how you use it. And this," The cobalt-orbed teen gestured angrily to the bound Fenris. "This is wrong!"

Cherit flew down to sit on her shoulder. "I have to agree- it pains me to see a fellow titan treated like this. I thought you were better than this, Dante."

Loki got to her feet, trembling both with cold and with anger. "So did I." She spat, before running out of the room.

Dante bowed his head, shame flushing his cheekbones a dark umber against his tanned skin. "Will, go after her." The Casterwill nodded, then started down the corridor after the blonde.

With a shock, the russet-haired Seeker realized that this misuse of power had struck home with Loki because of the way she was scared of the violent and merciless nature of her own powers. To her, seeing Fenris tied up with a rope he couldn't break no matter how hard he tried must have been like seeing her nightmare about the Catacombs all over again. Sighing, he knelt beside the titan, who froze, staring at the human before him with wide eyes, and began to untie Gleipnir.

Zhalia rolled her eyes. "Not you too, Dante! This is crazy!" And yet, she too began to release the wolf. When the last knot was undone, the titan stood up, backing away from the two Seekers. The auburn held up his hands, showing he wasn't going to hurt the wolf and Zhalia, after a muttered rant about idiots with consciences, did the same. Fenris approached carefully, much like a puppy that had been kicked or yelled at.

Just then, Loki and Will arrived back, the former with tears in her sky-blue eyes. Seeing the wolf freed, she smiled at the two older Seekers, a small, hesitant smile that said that she was sorry for what she had done too. When she passed by Dante to reached Fenris, she slipped her hand into his, and squeezed. He squeezed back, letting her know she was forgiven.

"Now, Fenris." The blonde had turned to the matter at hand. "Do you know where Mjollnir is?" Zhalia rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth shut, having seen many things that day that had changed her perspective of the world. To no one's surprise, the wolf nodded. "Can you take us there?" Another nod, and the wolf became a dog, scampering along before turning back to make sure they were following, eyes shining and tail wagging.

* * *

><p>He led them to the chamber of the stone snake, and sat down before the sculpture, scratching it and whining. Loki raced over to him, laughing, and patted his side, not tall enough to reach his head. "Good boy!" She said, looking at the snake with curious eyes. "The snake is a lock, so maybe it has to take a certain shape..."Fenris barked happily, the noise just as loud as before, then stopped, growling at the corridor Dante and the others had come through the first time they'd come to the stone snake's room.<p>

Feeling a smile tug at the corners of his lips, Dante crooked his finger for Fenris, and the wolf bounded over, sitting guard at the door. To the wolf' great surprise, the two humans that burst through were welcomed with smiles and laughter. "Dante!" Montehue boomed, Tersly looking nervously at Fenris. "I see you haven't met your doom!"

The russet-haired Seeker shook his head. "No. In fact, our doom has become a very good watch dog." Fenris gave a joyous bark, glad to have been mentioned. "I see you've not met your doom either!"

The grey-haired man's smile slipped for a second, but soon slotted itself back into place. "Well," He pointed over his shoulder. "It might be right around the corner!"

Behind him, streaming down the corridor in their thousands, was the army of Guardians. Zhalia gave a rather Fenris-like growl, her patience having worn out ages ago when dealing with Tersly's sniveling. "Leading that mob here was a good idea, why?" She snapped, stepping forwards to stand beside Dante.

The golden-eyed man brought up his hands, preparing to cast a spell. "Loki, Will, get that door open. Everyone else, keep them trapped in the hall! Touchram!" The vivid green energy blasted from his hands, knocking over the first wave of many. Zhalia was quick to follow, summoning Gareon to help her before sending a stream of Raypulses to blind the Guardians. When Fenris went to go into the hallway, the amber-orbed Seeker shook his head, and the wolf backed off.

Montehue ran to the side of the door, pushing over one of the massive blocks that stood there to block the door. "This won't hold them for long, even though they're only as strong as a litter of kittens!" He rumbled, throwing his weight against the pillar, trying to push it closer to the door. Dante nodded, pulling a blue, three-pronged amulet from his pockets.

"Give him a hand, Caliban!" The Aztec appeared at once, rushing forwards to help his mortal companion block the door.

At the back of the hall, Loki, Will and Tersly were fiddling with the snake. Or rather, Loki was fiddling, and Will and Tersly were suggesting important shapes in Norse mythology that it might have to take. Suddenly, the snake moved on its own. "Something's happening!" The blonde warned her two helpers, and they stopped talking for a moment before going back to Tersly's journal.

Dante looked back briefly. "They're going to break through any minute!" The sapphire-orbed girl nodded, hair flopping into her eyes.

"We're trying!" She turned back to the puzzle, her eyes alight as the snake moved to reveal its tail. "Look!" The blonde called to Cherit, and he flew over from where he'd been sitting by Fenris, talking to his fellow titan in animated tones. "Look at the head and tail of the snake!" She pointed to the puzzle, showing the titan the way they seemed to fit together.

Cherit nodded. "It looks like a lock! Now you're think like a Seeker!" The little titan flew forwards to click the pieces together, and frowned when nothing happened.

Loki sighed, glaring at the serpent. "There's got to be something else!" Will ran over, conscious that they were running out of time.

"Isn't there something like this in Norse mythology?" Tersly nodded, flicking through his book, and finding the page with a cry of triumph.

"It's the snake, Ouroboros!" The blue-eyed girl standing by the statue burst out laughing.

"The snake wasn't _called _Ouroboros, it _was _an ouroboros. It's Norse for he who eats himself. It means that the snake has to bite its tail, and we already knew that!" She paused, giving the snake a shrewd look. "But, you're right! There is something like this in Norse mythology. It's the Migard Serpent, the snake that stretched around the edge of the world, another of the sons of Loki and Angrboða. It's Jörmungandr!" She reached up to the snake, and swiftly began untying the knot that was the tail. "He was a perfect circle with no end or beginning because he was biting his own tail. I just have to untangle the tail, and its open!"

A trio of Guardians thought to try their luck climbing over the block, but were met with a swiftly invoked Solwing, who swooped down, grabbed their hoods, and flung them back into the hallway. They got back up, and with the rest of their brethren, began to Thundercut the block of stone, sending chips flying here and there. Montehue gritted his teeth, but kept pushing the stone pillar.

Dante bit his lip, looking anxiously between the door and the Guardians. "Once they break through, there'll be too many of them. We'll have to abandon this room!" Zhalia frowned, her eyes narrowing.

"That means abandoning the mission."

Behind the stone blockade, a cry could be heard. It was the bald man, again. "Protect the hammer of Thor, Guardians! Touchram!" A blast of green destroyed what was left of the stone block, sending Montehue flying, and Caliban and Solwing back to their amulets. Dante winced as he glowed first blue, then turquoise as they returned to him.

Montehue got to his feet, facing the oncoming Guardians with his axes in his hands. "Let them come!" He boomed gruffly.

Behind them all, Loki's hands were a blur as she turned, pulled and tugged at the snake, teasing the tail back into a smooth curve. Just as the block exploded, she finished. The serpent now made a circle around the edge of its container. The tail and the head fitting together to make the final piece, the edges of the door billowed smoke, then swung open. "We did it!" The blonde crowed, looking back over her shoulder at her teammates. "Come on, now's our chance!" The trio of young Seekers waved to their teammates before dashing through, Zhalia soon following, recalling Gareon as she did so. After a moment's thought, the azure-eyed Seeker that had opened the door turned back, stuck her head out, and whistled for the wolf that was still standing guard outside. Fenris immediately bounded over, just about managing to squeeze through the door.

"Montehue!" Dante called to the beefy man, who was still facing the oncoming horde. He turned and, seeing the door, followed the younger Seeker through. Cherit watched them all go, and once everyone was through, he flew to the snake, twisting it back into a knot. With a hmm of satisfaction, he flew through the door just before it closed, leaving the Guardians to hammer at it in vain with their fists.

* * *

><p>Behind the slab of stone, the team were staring in awe at the scene before them. A huge pillar of natural rock rose in the center, surrounded by floating disks of the same stone, like stairs. The most amazing thing, apart from the two-handed golden hammer that hovered atop the pillar, was the lightening that arched from the hammer to the various platforms, bouncing around them, filling the air with the sounds of sizzling and crackling, and the smell of ozone. Fenris took one look at the hammer, and backed away. The weapon obviously held bad memories for the titan.<p>

"There she is." Montehue rumbled, his eyes fixed on the prize. He gave the amber-eyed Seeker next to him a grin. "May the best man win!" Dante nodded, and the pair set off, neck and neck at first, with the smaller man pulling ahead bit by bit.

"A test of worthiness from Thor himself." The auburn called down to the others, the three youngest looking on with open mouths and wide eyes.

"Unreal!" Loki murmured, thinking about the way that she had often daydreamed of things like this. Will nodded, a look of wonder on his usually sulky face.

"I bet Dante will get there first." He whispered to the blonde, seeing the way that their mentor was climbing steadily higher than his opponent. It seemed like the Casterwill was right as the russet-haired Seeker made the leap to the last platform before the hammer, when a hand grabbed his ankle, making him miss, and grab the platform below instead.

Will frowned, his sulky face back. "He cheated." The brunette muttered rebelliously. Zhalia glared at him, her coffee-coloured eyes cold.

"He's just doing what he has to do to get the prize." She explained, as Dante made landed back on solid ground. Montehue looked down on them all from his place on the pillar, before picking up the hammer and lifting it above his head. Lightening gathered around the weapon, crackling and dancing along its length. The pillar began to sink into the floor, giving Montehue a safe route down.

Loki laughed, not really caring if it was Dante or Montehue that got the prize, as long as it wasn't the Organization, though she had a feeling that Montehue needed to win this. "We did it!" She cheered, her happy mood lifting everyone else's too. "We got Mjollnir!" With a smile of his own, Dante walked up to congratulate his old friend.

"Now we just need to get out of here with it." He quipped, a smirk playing across his angular features, and the grey-eyed man beside him gave a booming laugh, knowing that that was the auburn's way of saying well done. Suddenly, the man gave a quiet groan, and Mjollnir dipped closer to the floor.

Tilting her head to one side curiously, the cobalt orbs of the blonde teen scanned Montehue for any injuries. "What's wrong?" She asked at last, not seeing any.

The older Seeker looked at the hammer in his hands, a look of surprise on his coarse features. "Suddenly, its ten times the weight it should be." Dante sighed, having expected something of the sort.

"We have to move."

* * *

><p>A while later saw the team walking down a roughly hewn tunnel, the walls jagged and grey. Loki looked back over her shoulder at Montehue, who was walking alone behind the group, with worried eyes. "That thing looks almost as heavy as my Western Civ textbook. Can we give you a hand?" Fenris sniffed the large man curiously, still keeping his distance from Mjollnir. The wolf seemed to have taken a liking to the grey-haired Seeker, and had followed him around since Montehue had rejoined the group.<p>

The steel-eyed man shook his head, eyes bright. "I got...the hammer first." He said, obviously under great strain. "I'll...carry it myself!" Loki sighed, rolling her eyes and muttering once again about childish men.

Dante, at the head of the group due to Montehue's burden, pointed to the light at the end of the tunnel. "There should be an exit just through this cavern ahead." As the rest of the group stopped, looking with wide eyes at what lay ahead, Dante walked forwards alone, a devilish smile tipping the corners of his lips as he saw the welcome party that waited them. It was Baldy, with a slightly smaller group of Guardians behind him. "Well, what do we have here? Looks like my luck is changing for the better."

Baldly sneered at the Huntik Seeker, hungry eyes searching the shadows behind him. Loki, who hadn't seen the Guardians because she'd been at the back of the team, pushed her way to the front and, seeing their opponents, walked up to stand at her mentor's side, a fierce glare making her eyes as cold as ice. The hairless operative, upon seeing the blonde, looked satisfied. The azure-eyed teen sighed, and whispered to the auburn next to her. "Someone obviously got the memo I'm valuable property." A smirk twisted her full lips, and she clearly wasn't going without a fight. Fenris began to growl, his dislike for the Guardians tempered after many years of captivity.

Baldy paled at the sight of the mighty wolf, then decided to kick it into gear, and pointed a quivering finger at the Huntik team. "There's no escape! The door is blocked with a ten foot slab of stone, and you can't outrun my minions with the weight of Mjollnir!" Zhalia, her coffee eyes irritated, stepped up next to the blonde, and Will followed suit, yanking Tersly with him, making a human wall of defiance. The wolf stayed with Montehue, but he was big enough to be seen even from back there.

Surprisingly, the sight of the Foundation's strongest Seekers coming up against him together didn't make the bald man flinch. It became clear why when footsteps, loud as thunder, shook the ground behind them. Turning, with a feeling of dread in their stomachs, the team saw the Frost Giant appear from where he'd been hiding. "And I believe Ymir is still angry after his last encounter with you." The Huntik team began to back away, stopping when they realized that it was only bringing them closer to the Guardians. Fenris snarled at the giant, his Norse heritage telling him that Frost Giants were enemies of his previous Seeker. Montehue, instead of being scared like any sane person, got angry.

With a crash like thunder, he dropped Mjollnir on the floor, making Loki wince at the treatment of the artefact. "We'll fight them head on! I won't give up my prize to the Organization!" He boomed, grey eyes shining. With a nod, Loki gestured for him to come over.

"You won that in competition, but friends become better friends by working together!" She said with determination.

Dante turned to look at her, surprised by the fact she was taking charge, then smiled. Loki was in her element at times like this, seeing battles as intricate puzzles that changed as you worked on them. "What did you have in mind?"

She glanced at him, then grinned, gesturing between him and Montehue. "If you're going to help, then try and work together for once, and take care of those bozos over there! I'll keep Ymir busy!" Montehue looked at her, with her blazing eyes and stern expression, and understood that it was times like this that she was best listened to.

"Teamwork again," He grumbled, then thought better of it when she glared at him. "Well, if I have to..." She nodded, and he sighed.

"Go!" Dante told her, and the blonde darted away, Hyperstriding between Ymir's legs, then using Nimblefire to dance away from his fists, as light on her feet as a butterfly is on its wings.

Cherit had to force himself to look, wincing at every time that the girl and the giant almost met. "Loki! Keep moving!" He called, and she laughed.

"I don't plan on stopping!" She yelled back, twisting to the side of another blow.

Will turned to Zhalia, his jade eyes serious. "We need our quickest titans to cover her!" He told the older woman, and she rolled her eyes, pulling out the squat, brown amulet that belonged to her wasp-like titans.

"Go, Strix." She said simply, and they flew forth with a buzzing of wings. Montehue followed her example, taking his only amulet from his pocket.

"Get out there, Tolivane!" He bellowed, and a yellow light burst from the amulet, encasing its Seeker before forming a spinning ball on the floor. The ball stopped rolling, revealing itself to be a titan. Tolivane was fat, squat, with a long, droopy face like a basset hound. Wearing ragged green clothing, he was an adorable rascal, changing between helpful and mischievious in the blink of an eye. Fenris howled, reminding the Huntik team that he was there, and that he would help.

Now that his enemies were fighting back, Baldy didn't look half as confidant. "Enough!" He shouted to his army. "Help the Frost Giant!" Still dodging Ymir's clutches, Loki gave a short laugh.

"That's something I never thought I'd hear in Thor's temple!" She jeered "Call yourself descendents of the Æsir! The giants were your enemies!" She broke of taunting the hooded men as Ymir got too close, and she felt the chill of his icy hands brush her cheek. "I need more speed." She muttered as her Nimblefire's fiery glow began to dim and flicker. "Lend me your wings, Kipperin!" In the time lost summoning her titan, Kipperin only just managed to fly out from under the massive fist of the giant.

Will saw her narrow escape, and half-turned from the battle, her name on his lips, fearing she'd been crushed. "Loki!"

High in the air, their eyes met, and the girl saluted her friend before flitting back to the titan, flying at its eyes, and keeping its attention from her teammates below. Will turned back to the fight, standing side by side with Zhalia, a thing he never thought he'd do, facing the oncoming Guardians. The cloaked figures stopped a few meters from them, wary, and the Casterwill took that time to unleash the Strix he had kept cupped in his hands. "Go!" He told it, and it zoomed off towards the Guardians, its black eyes reflecting the powers sent towards it as it easily dodged.

The bald man shot a Raypulse towards Dante, the Seeker only noticing it when Fenris took the strike for him, getting sent back to his amulet in the process. Picking up the wolf's resting place, a purple stone with two stalactites going off to the side, he sighed, thinking about how loyal the titan had been after Loki had excepted him. He turned back to the fight, a new fire in his amber eyes. Montehue had also suffered the loss of his titan, and two of the three Strix had been defeated too. All in all, the battle wasn't going well for the Huntik team, but it was about to get worse.

Above them all, Loki was still locked in her deadly dance with the giant, ghosting through the air on her titan's wings, twisting and swerving, her high cheekbones and pale skin giving her an elven look, and the wings completing her transformation into one of the delicate fae, a fairy from the tales of old. Her eyes blazed with determination, and she threw herself into her task, flitting about as if Kipperin's wings truly were hers.

Suddenly, Ymir bent to scoop a handful of grit from the floor, and threw it at the winged girl with all his strength, peppering Kipperin's wings with chunks of rock, sending him back to his amulet in a swirl of green light. With a scream, the blonde began to fall, shutting her eyes, not wanting to see the ground rush towards her. She felt a large, cold thing wrap around her, halting her impromptu nose-dive, and opened her eyes to find herself face to enormous face with Ymir. Swallowing another scream, she sent a volley of Raypulses at it, but they did nothing if make him angrier. The Frost Giant tightened his hand, and she gasped, the breath driven from her in one move. She stretched her hand as far down as it would go, trying to brush against the amulet that lay in her pocket, her sole fighter, Freelancer, but her fingers came up short.

Having to give up on solving the problem herself, she called for help. "Will! This is kinda demeining- help!" Loki didn't know why to was his name that sprang to her lips, but her azure eyes strove to find him in the crush of bodies battling against the ground. A shock of brown hair, a flash of emerald eyes, and she saw him, his jade eyes wide as he stared into her own. Will dove into the crowd, slipping around the Guardians like a snake, quickly finding Dante in the brawl. Together, they battled to where the others were fighting, forming a protective circle in the middle of a sea of blue cloaks.

They pushed against the flow, together working their way closer to the Frost Giant. When they came close enough, the giant reached for them too, and batted at them as one might swat at a fly, forcing them to back away again. "Dante!" The trapped teen shouted above the noise, her cyan eyes glimmering with unshed tears. "You and Montehue," She broke off as Ymir swung at the team again, shaking her about. "You have to work together," Another lunge, another shake, another pause. "You have to use the hammer together!"

Montehue shook his head, opening his mouth to object, but Loki got there first. "If I wasn't stuck up here, I'd slap you both for being so," She stopped, gasping as Ymir clenched his fists, annoyed that his prey was escaping, having obviously forgotten that he had something in his hand. "Childish! Just do it!"

Her auburn mentor turned to his old friend. "We have to try, at least. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on letting Loki down." Montehue nodded.

"I have become a mite fond of the lass. Alright, lets do it!" With the others watching their backs, they lifted the golden hammer from the floor, instinctively working as one, and began to spin it, lightening gathering around them like a crackling aura. Faster and faster it span, its spinners' hands mere blurs, its self a golden circle in the air. Ymir, recognizing the fierce glow, shifted on his feet, unsure whether to go for the prey, or to run from Mjollnir. In the end, the decision was made for him.

At the hammer's peak speed, both Seekers feeling it in their bones, they shared a look. "One, two, three, Dragonfist!" They cried together, the light from the hammer casting shadows across the angular face of the smaller man, and shadows into the crags of the coarse face of the other.

"Now!" Dante roared, and they released their deadly burden, sending it soaring through the air, lightening surging from it to cast light into the darkest corners of the cave. It blasted straight through Ymir's stomach, and in his death throes he dropped his prize. Loki, watching with wide eyes at the destructive force of the hammer, kept down as Mjollnir kept going. Sending waves of fire and wind to knock down the Guardians and destroy the last of the titans, it smashed through the wall to the outside world, flying off into the sky like a blazing comet.

When the fires had stopped, Loki climbed unsteadily to her feet, peering at the figure moving closer through the dust and smoke. Sliding her feet into a fighting stance she could barely hold, the teen hoped it wasn't a Guardian. In her current state, the blonde doubted she could defeat a mouse. A gust of wind swept through the newly opened wall, and the smog cleared, revealing the mysterious person to be Will. She smiled at him, then sat down, her legs trembling with exhaustion and pain. He rushed over, emerald eyes shining with relief.

"Why is it always you who gets into trouble, Loki?" He muttered, tucking that annoying strand of hair that was always in her eyes behind her ear. "Next time we go on a dangerous mission, you don't get to play bait to the monsters, alright." She nodded.

"You can gladly have that job, Will. I've had enough near death experiences in the past few weeks to last me the rest of my hopefully long life. I'm even starting to wonder if there is such thing as God, and what I've done to make him mad!" Laughing, the brunette pulled his friend to her feet, and they stood together, staring in wonder at the hole the hammer had made in the wall. An entire section was gone, leaving a nice, new exit for the Huntik team.

The azure-eyed girl gave the hole a wary look. "Power like that is best used wisely, and the wisest way to use it is never at all. I'll be glad once its tucked away in some Foundation store-room somewhere." The Casterwill beside her nodded.

"It was...something. Are you okay? Ymir shook you about quite a bit." She shook her head.

"I just feel a bit sick, and the rest is bruising. I'll be good as new in a few days." More shapes began to appear out of the mist, as Tersly, Montehue, Zhalia, and finally, Dante made their way towards the new way out.

When Dante reached his wayward students, his eyes were filled with a mixture of anger and acceptance. "I," He said at last. "Am buying you a leash." The blonde laughed, but it soon died at the look on her mentor's face.

"You can't be serious!" Before the auburn could say anymore, Zhalia gestured impatiently to the icy world beyond the temple.

"Come on! We discuss ways to train the puppy later. For now, let's just get going." The group nodded, Loki still shooting her leader anxious looks about his threat.

* * *

><p>Though Tersly thought it would be rather hard, it was quite easy to find Mjollnir, thanks to the smoke billowing from its location. Will stayed close to Loki the whole time, slipping his hand into hers when he thought no one was looking, and giving her his turtleneck when he noticed her shivering. Smiling gratefully, she slipped it on, rolling up the sleeves till it fit.<p>

Finding Mjollnir's landing site, the team walked down the long groove in the snow till they found the hammer lying in a deep crater at the end. Moving to form a circle around it, they all eyed it with fear and respect. The electricity that usually surrounded the golden hammer had disappeared, probably used up when Montehue and Dante had worked together to use it.

"You got to it first, Montehue. Take the hammer back to the Foundation." The grey-haired man hesitated, then shook his head, an inner battle coming to an end.

"No. This prize was won by all of us, and we only escaped with it due to Loki's quick thinking. I think you should be the one to present it to the Foundation, lass." For a moment, she just stared at him, blue eyes disbelieving, then...

"Me? But... but I thought..." She was interrupted by shrill laughter from her shoulder, as Cherit sniggered at her stunned expression.

She turned to glare at him, but that only seemed to make the little titan laugh more. "I hope you don't stutter like that at the presentation!" He managed to gasp, trying to calm down. The blonde rolled her eyes, and picked him off her shoulder, holding him in her arms instead.

"At the rate you're going, you'll fall off." Loki explained to the white creature, and he nodded his thanks, still chuckling away.

Montehue looked at the group before him, his grey eyes thoughtful, before turning to walk away, Tersly beside him. Dante watched him go, then called after him.

"Montehue!" The Seeker turned. "We couldn't have done it without you. I want you to have this." He tossed Fenris's amulet through the air, and the steel-haired man caught it with ease. "A titan bonds most easily with someone close in spirit to its original owner, and the closest to the spirit of Thor is you. Besides, the wolf's taken a shine to you." The friends shared a look, before Montehue gave a rumbling laugh, tucked the amulet into his pocket, and turned away again.

Loki smiled, watching the pair, and whispered to Will. "This is so cool! With him and Dante together, the Organization are toast!"

However, that was not to be, for Montehue stopped, looked over his shoulder, and gave his old friend a smirk. "One more thing, Dante. We worked together this once, but next time, I'll get the prize myself."

The blonde teen sighed, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. "He hasn't learned at all!" Dante just grinned, knowing it was his friend's way of saying thank you.

* * *

><p>The teams went their separate ways, with Montehue and Tersly disappearing back the way they had come, and Dante and the others following their route back to where they'd dumped their things, taking turns to carry Mjollnir, who had gotten considerably lighter upon leaving the temple. Luckily, it hadn't snowed, and Ymir's footsteps were still there, making an easy to follow trail. Once they'd recovered the bags, with Loki slipping gratefully back into her ski jacket, Dante used the holotome to contact their pilot.<p>

* * *

><p>On the flight home, each member was lost in their own thoughts. Will's mind kept drifting back to Loki, the way she was always so bubbly and happy, her strong beliefs and endless faith in her friends. He also kept replaying in his head the way she'd called his name first, not Dante or Zhalia's, but his. For some reason, that made him immensely happy, and he smiled to himself the whole journey back.<p>

Dante was thinking about Zhalia. There was something about the blue-haired woman that captivated him, drew him in, and made his world revolve around her. When she was with him, all he wanted to do was make sure she was okay, and when she was gone all he wanted to do was find her. After the last time, he'd promised himself that he'd never let himself be hurt again, but what good was that promise doing him now?

Zhalia's thoughts were of a similar nature. She wondered how long she could keep up this charade, how long she could be this frosty queen of ice, the cold woman with no heart, with Dante around? He was like the summer to her winter, her opposite and yet they worked so well together. She shook her head. Maybe it was time for a break...

Loki, her mind as hyper as her nature, skipped merrily between all three subjects. She seen the way Dante looked at Zhalia, and visa versa, but knew better than to interfere with things like that- it needed a delicate touch she didn't posses outside of puzzles. Besides, they'd come together in their own sweet time. She drew away from thoughts of Will, not knowing why, but the thought of him made her heart beat faster. The blonde pushed the thought away- it was probably nothing. To take her mind off the brunette sitting across from her, she played with Cherit, each trying to out riddle the other.

After half an hour of riddles, which eventually drew Dante, Zhalia and Will out of their shells, the pair gave up. "I can't think of anymore!" Cherit cried, racking his brains for one last puzzle.

The blonde shrugged. "I've only got the one left, and its not that good anyway. I read it in a book a while ago." Dante smirked.

"As interesting as this has been, we're going to land soon." Will laughed, and motioned for Loki to use her last one. There'd been quite a few of the puzzling rhymes, with the answers ranging from coal, to humans, to dogs.

The girl nodded, her azure eyes filled with laughter. "Alright. I am coloured red, blue, yellow and every other hue of the rainbow. I am thick and thin, tall and short, I can eat a hundred sheep in a row and still be hungry. What am I?" Shutting her eyes, the riddler leaned back in her seat, arms behind her head, a smile tipping the corners of her lips.

Cherit frowned, and folded his arms. "Well, urm...maybe...no, that's not it...oooooooh." He looked to his teammates for help, grey eyes pleading. Will took pity on the little titan, and decided to help.

"If I may," Loki nodded, eyes still shut, that secretive, knowing smile still on her face. "Is it a dragon? That riddle's from a fantasy book, if we're thinking of the same one."

The blonde's eyes snapped open, but there was no defeat within their cobalt depths. "Right book, wrong answer!" She laughed. "It's a sheepskin rug!" The team shared a laugh at the Casterwill's face as the plane came back down to Earth.

* * *

><p>Upon their return to Dante's house, they found the door jammed by a ton of mail. "Ah, the glamorous life of a Seeker." The russet-haired house owner grinned, crouching down to scoop up the letters. "Exciting missions, extraordinary powers, and lots and lots of junk mail waiting for you when you get back."<p>

Loki shook her head, bending down to pick up one he'd missed. "Who even sends letters anymore?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"The people who sent these, obviously." After handing their mentor the letter, the teens walked together into the sitting room, dumping their rucksacks and relaxing on the sofas, Zhalia following close behind. Dante walked into the kitchen, completely focused on the letters in his hands. The blonde shrugged.

"Want a cuppa?" The emerald-eyed boy looked confused.

"A what?" The blue-eyed girl next to him sniggered.

"A cup of tea. It's British slang. I thought you'd know that, what with the accent and all."

Will shrugged. "Whatever you say. I'd love a 'cuppa'." Loki laughed, shoved him, got Zhalia's order, and wandered into the kitchen. After living with Dante for almost a month, she knew what cups were his, what not to go near, and where to find the teabags. She also knew about the stash of amulets he had hidden inside the coffee pot- the auburn didn't like coffee, but the tin had come as a set, so he'd found another use for it.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Dante had been sifting though the letters, putting junk on the shred pile, bills on the table, and keeping certain ones for himself. One plain white envelope caught his eye, and he opened it at once with an almost feverish energy.<p>

A single line was written inside. "I'll be at the usual place." Hearing footsteps behind him, the golden-eyed Seeker quickly scrunched the paper up and tucked it inside one of his many pockets.

"You okay, Dante?" The footsteps belonged to Loki, and she sounded concerned. After plastering a fake smile on his face, he turned around.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

* * *

><p>AN: The end to another episode! Thank you to Janka for you're help with deciding Kona-Loki's name, and my dearest sister Key-hands is yelling at me to credit her for the people-with-beards-are-evil sketch in episode 7, so, well, there we go. That conversation between Will and Loki was an actually conversation between my sister and myself when watching the episode together. Ah, good times...<p> 


	26. Chapter 25 Absent Heroes

AN: Finally, a bit about Dante's mysterious past. dun dun DUUUUUUN!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 25- Absent Heroes Part 1

_Metz Country Estate, Germany_

A large, Victorian style mansion, with sprawling grounds, all carefully attended to. Birds sang, the fountain trickled its way merrily to the pond, and if any place seemed idyllic, it was here. But, as with the rest of the woe begotten world, not all was as it seemed. Dante paused at the gates, hesitating before opening them, and entering what had been his home till he'd wandered beyond the trimmed hedges to find his own way in the world. He'd been 16, the same age as Loki, but he'd always come back. How could he forget the man who had raised him since they'd found each other? He'd been 7, running from a past that he wouldn't wish on anyone, and here amongst the German countryside he'd found a place where he could just... _be_.

A faint smile flickered across the auburn's lips as he remembered the many adventures he'd had with Metz growing up. He'd been the older man's stalwart companion on all his missions, refusing to be left at home, and been more of a nusaince than a help till he'd been properly trained, and yet Metz had never given up on him. Now it was his turn to do the same.

Walking quickly up to the front door, Dante fished his key from one of his many pockets, opened the door, and was home.

But that was yesterday. He'd been ushered upstairs by the newest in a long line of nurses, and spent the remainder of the day at the man's beside, hoping he would have one of his rare moments of consciousness. He'd waited all day, but Metz remained in the deep sleep that pervailed his condition. No doctor could tell what was wrong with the once healthy Seeker, and so no cure could be found, but Dante was determind to find the right herb, the secret recipe, the magic dust that would heal his mentor. It was the same hope of those whose loved ones had cancer- the wish for the happy ending that, deep inside, they knew would never come.

Today, he had resumed his post, occasionally walking to the window and looking out. On one such trip to break the monotonous waiting, he let his mind wander too far into the future, to a world without Metz, and clenched his fists, his nails biting into his palm. He would never let that happen! He scowled out across the lawn, hating the fact that the world went on living when his friend couldn't, hating the fact that it was sunny when it was stormy in his heart.

A soft groan behind him startled Dante, and the auburn turned back to the bed that dominated the large, old-fashioned room. It was a perfectly normal bedroom, save for the many useless machines that crowded the bed, doing their best to keep the man within alive.

"Dante?" Said a hoarse, weak voice. "Is that you?" Fixing a fake smile firmly in place, the russet-haired Seeker hurried over, pulling a chair up to sit on. Metz, his face pale and wan, the skin waxy and the eyes sunken in, reached out a hand for his ward to hold.

"Of course." The amber-eyed man said at last. "Who else looks this devilishly handsome and charming?" It was an old joke between the pair, the way that women used to throw themselves at him when he was a teen. They still did, just not as much. Metz used to complain that Dante was bribing them to make him jealous.

Metz smiled, a tiny little grin. He'd always been so full of life, that he was hardly recognizable as he was now. The older man's golden-eyed protégé felt his heart brake a little more, but didn't let it show. After his years as a Seeker, and his life before Metz, he'd learnt to master his emotions before they mastered him.

"I'm meeting a black market contact. He has some new medical options for you. Just hold on!" The sick man raised an arm to place a hand on his student's shoulder for a second, before the effort became too much, and he lowered it again.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, Dante." His voice, husky with disuse, was tainted both by his illness, and by the thick German accent Metz had acquired growing up in Germany.

The auburn shook his head, determination burning in his amber eyes. "Metz, you have so much more to do as chairman of the Huntik Foundation!" His eyes shone with the fires of his passion. "I swear I'll cure you, no matter what the cost!"

He stood and left the room, soon appearing in the window, walking down the path. Metz watched him go, too tired to deal with the impatience of the young, with sad, brown eyes.

* * *

><p><em>Back in Venice, Italy<em>

Of course, in his hurry to see his mentor, Dante had forgotten to tell Loki where he was going, or that he was going at all. The team had spent the day after the mission relaxing at Dante's house, and the next morning, the blonde had gone downstairs to find herself alone. At first, she'd been a bit scared, wondering where her mentor had gone, but then she'd got down to buisness.

But after making, eating and clearing up breakfast, doing some washing, ironing and tidying up, playing with Cherit for a few hours and reading, the azure-eyed girl didn't know what to do with herself. So, she called Will. The brunette suggested that she stay at his till Dante got back, so she'd quickly packed a bag and walked over. They'd spent the day training, laughing, and having fun in one of the huge practise rooms in his canal-side mansion. The next day, they'd walked back to Dante's together, but he still wasn't home. They'd stayed there that night, and Zhalia had appeared the next morning. Loki had explained that the russet-haired man wasn't there, but let her in all the same, saying she was welcome anyways.

Will had presented the blonde with a new type of puzzle, taking out another one for him to do at the same time, wanting to pit himself against her. They headed into the living room, setting them both down on the table, and set to work. The Casterwill got off to a good start, making a large amount of his puzzle without a hitch, whilst Loki just stared at hers, her blue eyes distant. Zhalia lounged on one of the armchairs, scribbling on a piece of paper. Trying to look as if she knew what she was doing, the blonde looked at her watch. The little dial that told the date read 21st August. She smiled. It had been a whole month since she'd first found out about Seekers, Titans, and the rest of this secret world. The smile grew wider. It had been a month since she'd first met Will, Dante and Cherit too.

"Man, I'm clueless." Loki admitted at last, earning a smug look from Will. Cherit flew over from where he'd been snoozing on the windowsill. "This is like a test the day after half-term." The cobalt-orbed teen went on, running her fingers through her hair, eyes intent on her puzzle. They were like 3D jigsaws, but the blonde didn't know where to start. You had to unlock the different pieces from each other, then reassemble them in the correct pattern.

Cherit sat on her shoulder, and looked at the puzzle too. "Don't give up, Loki! Take a look at Will!" With interest, the girl shifted her gaze from her puzzle to Will's, then back again.

"Hey!" She grumbled. "How'd you already get so far?" The smug look on her friend's face increased tenfold.

"It's just a tessellation, you know, like the artist Escher, although it is a very complex one." The blonde sighed, and rolled her eyes. Trust Will to pick a puzzle based on an artist, and to pick one he was good at.

"Tesse-what-sis?" She asked him, having not heard the term before.

He sighed, like a teacher with a particularly dumb pupil. "A tessellation. Its a pattern made by a series of repeating images. Don't you remember art history class?" She shook her head, hair flopping into her eyes.

"I'm trying to forget. As the good Sherlock Holmes said, your mind is an attic room, with only so much space, and you must fill it with the finest lumber. Art history doesn't really top my list."

It was into that happy scene that a moody Dante entered. Shrugging out of his trenchcoat, and hanging it up, his mood was as black as his jumper. He walked into the living room, taking a seat without so much as a glance at the room's other occupants. With his shaggy hair hanging into his eyes, he looked distant and unapproachable. Loki's cyan eyes lit up at the sight of him. The teen had been worried sick about his sudden disappearence, and had missed him to boot. "Dante!" She cried. "Where have you _been_? It's been two whole days, and you didn't even leave a note! We were really worried!" He didn't speak, and Zhalia took the chance to let off some of the spiteful poison that she'd been hoarding up for the past few days.

"You were worried, you mean. Maybe Dante just doesn't want to share every last thing with you two." Loki and Will both shot her venomous glares, and the blonde clenched her fists under the table. Cherit, always the peacemaker, flew between the two groups, looking between them his kind eyes.

"Come now. He may of had a mission. What say you, Dante?" Asked a direct question, the man uttered the first words he'd said since returning home, the strangely angry air that clung to him remaining strong.

"Actually, I was preping for my trip to Vienna this week." The others looked at him in shock, having heard nothing about a trip till then.

Loki was the first to recover, smiling broadly, trying to lift the mood that hung about her mentor. "My dad's journal mentions Vienna all the time! When do we leave?" Dante stood, walking over to the window before answering.

"You're not. I'm sorry, but I'm going by myself." The teens murmured their disappointment, and the blonde looked away, feeling betrayed somehow. She hated being left behind...in a small part of her mind, the girl hated her father for leaving, just as the rest of her knew it wasn't his fault. And now, it seemed like she was being left behind again. "Some things have to be dealt with alone." The amber-orbed man went on, seemingly unaware of the devastation he was wrecking through his team.

Zhalia gave herself a sly smile, still drawing lines on the paper in her hands. It obviously meant something to her, though it would confound anyone else who looked at it. Perhaps that was the point. "Too bad. There's something I've been meaning to check out in Vienna."

The teens gave exasperated cries. "I thought we were meant to be a team..." The youngest muttered dejectedly. She looked away, and as she did so, something in the mirror caught her eye. The words rang a chord in her mentor, and he pulled a photo from his pocket. It was sepia, as was the fashion in those times, and it showed a handsome young man in a three-quater length jacket, with dark hair, angular features and light eyes, standing next to an older man with a strong, proud face, dark hair and eyes, and a muscualr build. The older man had his arm around the shoulders of the younger, and they both looked determined and serious, though laughter glinted in their eyes at some hidden joke. Dante remembered the day that photo was taken, and remembered the story behind it too.

_Metz had been trying to teach him the value of teamwork, trust and friendship, something the 16-yr old was finding hard to understand. The golden-eyed boy had always had problems trusting people, older people especially, and the German was struggling to make him understand. _

"_But Metz, why can't I do it by myself?_" _He'd asked, still confused. Metz had just smiled, always tolerant, always patient and understanding._

_"Dante, Seekers may succeed alone, but only with a team is their true victory."_

The auburn smiled, and turned back, one eyebrow raised. "Alright, you guys win. Pack up." Will let out an exaulted cheer, then blushed, and tried to claw back his dignitity.

"We can continue the search for your father, right Loki?" He looked back at his teammate, then gaped.

"How did you? _When _did you?" In the space of the conversation, the blonde had finished her puzzle, standing back to look at it with a proud gaze.

She pointed to the mirror, her eyes sparking with mischief. "The reflection of the pieces caught my eye." The girl explained happily.

The emerald-eyed lad was still staring at the completed tessellation. "A mirror?" He asked, amazed. His friend nodded.

"The pattern's a snap to follow when its reversed!" Dante smiled, even though he didn't feel like it. He couldn't help but be caught up in the teen's infectious happiness and laughter. Cherit congratualted the blonde, but she brushed it off, grinning.

The russet-haired Seeker shook his head. "Sometimes looking at a problem from the opposite angle will allow you to move forwards."

* * *

><p>In some far off Organization base, Defoe was still venting his anger and hatred for Dante, even though they hadn't met since the Catacombs 3 weeks ago. The greasy man slipped into a large bubble-like dome, a complex machine on runners around the curved walls. It seemed to replicate attacks by titan's weapons and Seeker's powers, so that the suits could train, not that that training did them much good against the more experianced Foundation Seekers.<p>

With a whirring of gears, the training began. Lasers shot from the sides, blades and twirling axes swung at the target, and all the while Defoe fought back, anger molding his face into an unrecognizable mask. "I swear it, Dante Vale, I will end you!" In his hatred, he shot a Raypulse directly at one of the swinging blades, and not at its sensor, bending the weapon and breaking the systems movement. The lanky man continued to lash out, blindly hitting the frame, warping and twisting it. When he paused for breath, Defoe heard a 'huh' of disappointment behind him, and a black-gloved hand landed on his arm.

The man beside Defoe had pale, dead skin, black, shaggy hair, and an equally black moustache and goatee. He was wearing a long, mossy-green tunic that reached his knees with cream trousers underneath. "Take care." His voice was lilting, the accent one long since abandoned in the rest of Russia, menace in every syllable. The man himself was twice as frightening as the smaller, rather pathetic Defoe. "This training ring is expensive, Defoe."

The brunette bowed his head to his superior, and a slight tinge of fear gripped his heart. "Rassimov."

Rassimov, second only to the Professor, the executioner of the Organization, and the leader of its troops. Many rumors circulated about him, none of them nice...and the ones who started them often ended up...terminated. "I apologise. It won't happen again." Defoe continued, hurrying to get on the man's good side, if he had one.

"The Professor is pleased." Defoe relaxed, hoping that that was the theme of the message to come. "You are still on probation for your failure in the Catacombs, and this is why I am talking to you, and not the Professor. He is still angry at you, but he is willing to give you a second chance, seeing as you _are _active."

Defoe put his hand to his heart, feeling the beat underneath and was glad that it was there, and would stay there. "I'm glad. That means a great deal to me." Rassimov turned away, his face impassive.

"For your service, you'll be granted an important retrival mission."

"Retrival mission?" The brunette repeated, knowing it was just a glorified term for delivery.

"You will go to Vienna and bring back the titan King Basilisk." He delved into his robe, and drew out a key. It was a cubiod, with a long pole coming out of the bottom with a ring on the end for a handle. "This will help." The pale man held it out to his minion, and Defoe reached out, slipping the ring onto his middle finger.

Rassimov glared at the man before him, his black eyes as cold as death. "This key was accquired by the Professor himself. He has taken a personal interest." Any joy that Defoe might have had at those words was destroyed by the next, as the Russian turned away and began to walk.

"I don't have to tell you the concequence of failure." Defoe gasped, and behind his glasses his eyes were round with fear. In that one moment, you could feel nothing but pity for the man, for the mean and twisted world he had somehow found his way into. He looked so child-like and vunerable...but most of all, scared.

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Dante and the others had borded their plane, and taken off, unknowingly getting closer to a fight against Defoe. Whilst flying through sunset-tinted clouds, Cherit deemed it safe to poke his head outside his bag. He'd have done it alot sooner, save for the fact that Dante had taken the window seat this time, with Will next to him trying to draw him out of his bad mood. Across the aisle, Loki was listening to her iPod, and playing solitare, which was the closest she could get to a puzzle at the time. Next to her was Cherit's bag, the seat it on being empty luckily, and after him, Zhalia was curled up asleep before another aisle.<p>

Noticing the little titan peeping out at her, the blonde smiled and turned off her music. "My father's journal does mention Vienna, you know." She said consprically. "I wasn't making it up." Reaching into her hand luggage, she pulled out the tattered book, flicking through it till she found the right page. "Here."

On one side of the double page was a drawing of a building, with ilegible wrting scrawled underneath, and on the other, a drawing of a large lizard, its body twisted into a figure eight. Next to the lizard, in large enough writing that it had survived, was a clue. "It's just an address." Loki closed the book with a disappointed sigh. The white creature beside her shook his head.

"Then we have ourselves a destination!" The pair shared a hopeful smile, and next to them, a coffee-coloured eye cracked open.

* * *

><p>AN: I can't help but pity Defoe. He looks so scared here, like he's just pooped his pants<p> 


	27. Chapter 26 Absent Heroes Part 2

AN: Sorry for the delay, but I've had a friend from Spain around all week, and I have been out everyday! I hope this is worth the wait, though!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 26- Absent Heroes Part 2

_Vienna, Austria_

Dante stepped out into the Austrian sunlight, his emerald sunglasses shielding his eyes as he closed the door of the Huntik Foundation safehouse. Turning, he looked at each of his teammates, eyes solemn; Loki, her face lit up with excitement, her precious satchel on her shoulder, and wearing jeans for once; Will, looking around curiously but trying to be subtle; And finally Zhalia, who looked, strangely enough, more relaxed here then she had anywhere else before, if the secretive smile on her face was anything to go by.

"I'll be out most of the day on personal business, so don't wait around for me." The auburn told them, forcing himself to ignore the way that Loki's azure eyes dimmed as she realized she was still being left behind, just not as far. Will, as trying-to-be-macho-like-my-hero as ever, just nodded. Zhalia rolled her eyes, called a cab, and strode over, calling back over her shoulder.

"I'm sure I can find what I'm looking for without your help." With the slam of a car door and the rev of an engine, the blue-haired woman was gone. Amber eyes watched her go, knowing that the independent, icy Seeker wouldn't stick around to feel jilted. She was always like that, running from her feelings- one of these days, she was going to slow down, and years worth of pain and fear and tears would catch up to her. Dante promised himself he'd be there for her that day.

He faced the teens, his eyes and emotions hidden. "I know you two can take care of yourselves. Call if there's an emergency." Leaving his students behind, the auburn walked off down the street, briefcase in hand.

Loki shook her head. "This isn't right. 'You can take care of yourselves'? Normally he's warning us to be careful and not to go running off! Why is Dante giving us the cold shoulder?"

Cherit poked his head out of the blonde's satchel. "Yes, it's odd. Dante seems a bit bothered." The azure-eyed teen looked down at him, then back at the retreating figure of her mentor.

"Then maybe we can help! He doesn't have to so 'I'm-a-man-so-that-means-I-have-no-feelings' all the time." Will rolled his eyes.

"I'll bare that in mind next time I feel like crying, Loki. And how are we meant to help him if he's shutting us out, anyway?" A sneaky smile tipped up the corners of the Irish's mouth.

"Why, we follow him, of course!" The Casterwill sighed, hanging his head.

"Could you say that any louder? Let's go!" They stood there, pretending to be discussing where to go that day, then sprinted down the road after Dante when he turned the corner.

Will peeked around the bend first, then gaped and stepped out, Loki following, confused. The street was empty.

"What?" The blonde frowned, knowing that no one could move that fast. The road was long, with no turn-offs. With a huff of dissatisfaction, the emerald-eyed boy beside her jumped onto a shop's canvas hood, using it like a trampoline to vault onto the roof. As far as he could see, the street was deserted. Down below, the cobalt-orbed teen he'd left on the ground saw a flicker of movement in a shop doorway as a breeze drifted down the street.

It was the corner of a tan trench-coat as its wearer ran away down the alley. Loki shook her head, deciding that if he didn't want anyone to know _that _badly, she'd let him have his secret. "I can't see him, Will!" The brunette leapt down, landing agilely on his feet like a cat.

"Should've known that he could give us the slip just like that!" The boy groaned, sulking. "Now what?" Loki fished out her father's journal, reading out the address, a wicked smile on her face.

"We should go check it out. After all, Dante said: Don't wait around for me." She lowered her voice in a poor imitation of the russet-haired Seeker's, crossing her arms and looking off into the middle distance mysteriously. Will laughed, both at his friend, and at the prospect of finding a new clue.

He gave Loki an impish grin. "Guess we have to follow his orders, right?" The blonde shot the grin back at him, her eyes sparking with mischief.

"Yeah!" She turned to look at him, their faces inches apart, then they both blushed, looking away with flaming cheeks. Loki swore she heard Dante snigger. Ignoring the obviously immature older Seeker, she took Will's hand, and they ran off together.

* * *

><p>"Well, it's a bit further than I thought, but this is the place!" The building was just like the one in the journal, two stories, on the corner of the street, with a few steps up to the door, and a balcony on the first floor. Two tall trees stood by the entrance, and the only difference to the sketch in Eathon's book was a large statue on the roof. Just like the other drawing, it was a twisted serpent-like creature in a figure of eight, biting its tail. Will's emerald gaze was drawn to it instantly, and he pointed.<p>

"Look! Up on the roof! It's King Basilisk!" Loki tilted her head back to see the immense sculpture.

"Is it a titan?" She asked her ever-knowledgeable friend. He gave her a funny look.

"Of course! The legend of King Basilisk tells of a great lizard imprisoned in the stone as a guardian." The blonde next to him smiled, a reckless little grin that spoke volumes of trouble, and ran forwards to the building, glad she had worn her jeans that day.

"I need a fighter to watch my back." She thought to herself, and Freelancer glowed in her pocket, complaining. The azure-eyed Seeker touched his pendant for a moment, calming him. "I know I've got you, Freelancer, but you can't watch my back AND my front at the same time!"

Will gaped as she shimmied up one tree, crouching on top like a cat. "Wait! Are you sure that's a good idea?" The boy called, thankful that he could look at her without blushing, thanks to her jeans. The Irish gave that wild grin again, and leapt to the top of the porch.

"'Course I'm sure! And if I fall, Dante taught me a new power to land on my feet!" She sprang upwards, grabbing the first-floor balcony's railing, then flipping over to land safely.

The brunette below her looked down the street, praying no one walked by. "You know, there are less conspicuous ways of doing that..." Looking up, he winced as she jumped, grabbing the edge of the roof, and pulled herself up to face the statue's muzzle. Loki reached out, hesitated, then placed her hand on the lizard's snout.

She turned away almost instantly. "This is just a normal statue!" She closed her eyes, the world swimming, then focused and opened them again, conquering her vertigo...for the moment.

Will bit his lip, thinking, then, hearing footsteps, looked with wide eyes to where a group of men in yellow jumpsuits and hard hats were approaching. "Quick! Get down! Someone's coming!" He warned his friend before running to a side alley, and slipping inside. Loki saw the team too, and scrabbled around to the other side of the building, crouching in a dip in the stone.

Her cobalt eyes narrowed when they saw who was leading the group. "Defoe..." The blonde breathed, baring her teeth in a animalistic snarl. That man really brought out the worst in her... And beside him, as always, Grier. The girl decided there and then that whatever they were there for, she'd find a way to stop.

Defoe marched up to the door, ordering his men to follow with a single, harsh word. "Come." They went inside, save for two who paused to stretch tape across the entrance, and hang a 'Do Not Enter' sign on the handle before hurrying after their master.

Will rushed over as soon as the coast was clear, and Loki threw herself off the roof, whispering the power her mentor had taught her to land safely. "Featherdrop!" Golden light formed around her lithe form, and she floated gently to the ground. The azure-eyed teen sighed, and pushed her hair from her eyes.

"I have got to get over that vertigo..." She muttered to herself. Emerald eyes looked from the top of the roof, to his friend, then back before shaking his head.

"Loki, you just jumped off a roof with no safety net, except for a power you've just learnt. I don't think your vertigo is that big a problem." The blonde gave a nervous smile.

"You think so?" Will just nodded.

The smile on the teen's face grew into a proper one, and the boy beside her couldn't help but smile back. "Now, its obvious that the Organization is after the titan." The Casterwill said, taking charge. "Looks like we have a new mission!" They shared a mischievous smile, before creeping up to the door.

Loki pulled a purple amulet from her pocket, cupping it in her hands. "Let us through, Springer!" The little squirrel billowed from the pendent in a whirl of black smoke, the air turning to flesh as the titan settled in his Seeker's hands. With a click of a claw, the door swung open, the two-tailed creature disappearing into his amulet without uttering a word. He knew that something _sneaky _was going on, and understood the need for silence, for all that his talk was telepathic.

Will stepped up behind his younger friend, excitement burning in his emerald orbs. "Ladies first." He whispered, and they slipped in together.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the basement of the building, Defoe and his team had reached a large room. The walls were made of black, shiny stone, and a huge, square, metal door filled one wall. A cross at its center was the only clue as to how to open it. The suit, or rather the jumpsuit, to the left of the door bowed his head, reaching into his pocket and drawing out the key that Rassimov had given Defoe earlier. "For you." The suit said, holding it out. Defoe plucked it from his palm, then moved forwards to the door.<p>

"Remind me to thank the Professor." He called casually over his shoulder. Grier was disgusted at the way Defoe was so callous and confident with his own men, and yet was a sniveling wreck when it came to his superiors.

The lanky man slid the key into the middle of the cross, then had to leap back as the door came forwards, then moved to one side, almost crushing the man stood there. Defoe smirked at the dark opening in the wall. "King Basilisk is down here. He will make an excellent weapon against Dante Vale!" He reached into his jacket, and pulled out a square of paper with a map on it.

"You." He pointed to a suit next to him. "Stay here and make sure the door stays open and the key safe." Eyes flashed behind golden glasses. "It will be very unpleasant if it does not." The suit gasped, then watched the rest of his team go into the maze, leaving him alone. After walking across to stand guard in front of the door, he checked his watch. He'd not been guarding the door for more than a minute till something cracked against his head, and he went down, unconscious.

* * *

><p>A while later, a pair of reckless teens crept into the room, eyes scanning the glossy, black walls cautiously. Seeing the body lying motionless on the floor, the younger human darted forwards, checking his pulse with a shaking hand, breathing a sigh of relief when it came through steady. "Someone totally knocked this guy out. Judging by the lump on his head, the attack came from behind..." Loki frowned down the empty corridor before them. Will padded to stand in front of her, his emerald eyes gleaming with excitement.<p>

"But who?" He paused, not expecting an answer, and not getting one either. "I don't think we're the only ones following them." He said at last, and the blonde stood, moving to his side.

She took his hand. "We'll just have to be careful." They ran into the maze together, and Cherit made to fly after them, stopping as he heard movement behind them. Turning, his grey eyes widened in alarm as he saw the suit begin to stir. A cunning smile on his little face, the titan flew back, picked up the statue that had been used to knock the suit unconscious the first time, and dropped it solidly on top of the unfortunate man's head. He went down, out for the count again. Laughing to himself, Cherit flew back to his friends, and was met with a rueful glare from azure eyes.

"Cherit, by the look on your face, I think you enjoyed that." The titan gave a quick nod.

Smiling, he settled himself on her shoulder. "It's not often I get to help, and its even rarer when I get to give the Organization a taste of their own medicine! So, why not enjoy it, I say." Loki couldn't help but agree, her dislike of the suits and their masters tainting her thoughts too much for her to be unbiased in the matter.

* * *

><p>The trio wandered aimlessly through the labyrinth, trying to find the titan's hidden resting place before their opponents, when Will thought he heard a faint scratching of claws. He caught Cherit's eye, and winked slowly. The little titan shifted around on Loki's shoulder, and whispered into her ear.<p>

"We have a guest. Get ready for a scuffle." The blonde glanced back quickly, having thought she'd heard something too, glad to have her suspicions confirmed. The Casterwill walked to her side, the very essence of calm, then slipped his hand into hers.

He squeezed once, twice, thrice, then span around, fists raised. Loki just smiled and carried on walking, much to her companions' amazement. Azure eyes danced with laughter, and she stopped, crooking a finger at her friends. "Come on out, Gareon. I know you're there."

The green titan appeared on the floor before Will, and the emerald-eyed lad looked between him and the blonde teen with amazement. Zhalia walked down the corridor towards them, the opposite side to where Gareon had been hidden. "I think someone needs to work on their sense of direction." She jeered at Will, then recalled her titan in a blaze of green light. "How'd you see him, anyway?" The blue-haired Seeker looked at Loki with suspicion, having never know her little titan to be caught out.

With a laugh, the cobalt-orbed girl shook her head, her golden curls bouncing as she did so. "Who else has a titan that can turn itself invisible, and is in Vienna?" Zhalia shook her head.

"You guessed?" The teen nodded, laughing.

"You bet ya!" Growing serious, the girl stopped laughing, looking at the blue-haired woman curiously. "Enough about me, what are _you _doing here, Zhalia?" Before the coffee-orbed Seeker had a chance to reply, Will folded his arms, glaring at her. His face set in a distrustful frown, the Casterwill nodded.

"That's what I'd like to know." The boy said sharply, jade eyes glowing with anger. The young Lambert beside him sighed, knowing where this conversation would probably end up.

With a glare of her own, the blue-haired woman fiddled with the amulet about her neck. "This house and its treasure are what I came to Vienna for. Guess the Organization did too."

Will latched onto this fact like a dog to a bone. "What a strange coincidence." He smiled, but it wasn't the smile of a friend. It was the smile of a cop as he wraps the handcuffs around your wrists.

"Now see here, just because-" Zhalia snapped, interrupted by Loki sighing and placing a hand on each person's shoulder.

"I know how much you guys like disliking each other, but we really need to get to the titan before the bad guys! You can yell at each other later!" Cherit nodded from where he was flying above their heads.

"Aye. We need to get moving!" As the blonde and the little titan set of down the hall, Will gave the blue-haired woman opposite him one final glare before lifting his nose to the air and striding past. Zhalia rolled her coffee-coloured eyes, then followed quietly.

* * *

><p>They walked in silence for what could have been a few minutes, or a few hours, until Loki turned a corner, then quickly dashed back. "There they are! They're following a map!" Will peered around the slab of shiny, black stone, and watched as Defoe pulled a square of paper from his pocket, looked at it, then put it back.<p>

"That explains their knowledge of the maze." He hissed, still not acknowledging Zhalia's presence. Cherit flew to perch on Loki's head, mussing her golden hair, but she ignored him, focusing on her enemies.

"Well then, they'll lead us right to it!" He croaked, smiling at the answer to their problems. Behind him, Zhalia scoffed.

"Oh, yeah." She drawled. "And they'll surely beat us to the titan too!" Cherit looked away sadly, ashamed that he hadn't thought of that. As the team watched, Defoe and his suits walked down the corridor, turned a corner, and disappeared from sight.

The blonde teen stood up from where she'd been crouching, her face set with determination, and her azure eyes blazing with a reckless idea. "But if we get that map, we'll get there first!" Loki faced her friends, a wild grin lighting up her elven face. "We can't go around them, but what if we try going over them?" Zhalia smiled, a lazy grin that concealed her excitement.

"Over?" She asked, tilting her head to one side, blue hair looking almost black in the light of the tunnels. The Lambert nodded, and Will started to looked excited too.

"If Zhalia and I make a distraction-" The excitement on the Casterwill's face disappeared, and he shook his head, frowning.

"After what happened in Iceland, we make a deal that you weren't going to be monster bait anymore. Zhalia and I will distract them." With a sigh, Loki agreed.

"Then Cherit and I will take care of the rest." She pulled the green amulet from around her neck, lifting it above her head, a smile tipping the corners of her lips as the titan inside buzzed happily. "Raise me up, Kipperin!" Will rolled his eyes.

"You have just ruined that song for me, forever." Green light flowed from the amulet to form the butterfly-like shape of the flying titan, and Kipperin began flying around, his dark eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Loki held out her arms, and Kipperin created the now familiar harness around her lithe form. She gave a cunning smile, her hair flopping forwards into her eyes, casting shadows down her face. As her Bond with her titan grew stronger, her eyes glowed as emerald as Will's, and she took to the air.

* * *

><p>"We're almost there, Grier. The Professor will be most pleased." Defoe and his men were just ahead of the Huntik team, still following the map. The lanky man glanced down at the paper in his hand, then started forwards again. Grier nodded.<p>

"Yes sir." He rumbled, waving for the suits to follow. Defoe gave a grim smile.

"Dante Vale may have thwarted me before, and in the past," A glimmer of hidden memories flickered behind his glasses. "But King Basilisk will be mi-" He broke off as a sharp scream came from behind them- a pink flash had knocked out the suits at the rear of the group. As the Organization men looked on , a young emerald-eyed lad and a blue-haired woman leapt out from the side passages, a black knight and a pink-haired woman at their backs. Defoe recognized them instantly- they were Vale's followers, or at least some of them. This meant _he _was nearby, plotting to foil his plans! "Get them!" The greasy man roared, pointing at the Foundation agents with a quivering finger. Grier and two of the three remaining suits ran to obey. The last stayed close to his master.

"Redcap!" The only female suit called, pulling the beetle-like amulet from her pocket. The titan within leapt forth with a murderous shriek, but the visor-wearing titan dashed forwards, nimble as a mountain goat, and slash her rapier into the monster's side before it had time to move.

The second suit tried his luck, summoning a Mindrone to attack the pink-haired titan. Before Sabriel had time to react, the new titan blasted her with a bolt of energy from its single eye. Kilthane, his jagged sword at the ready, moved forwards to help his teammate. Seeing that the odds were against him, Grier put a hand to the amulet at his throat. "Breaker!" The bear-like creature gave a mighty roar, and charged his opponents, grabbing the black knight with two of his arms, and restraining him with the others. Sabriel quickly ran to the titan's aid, slicing Breaker down one arm with her sword. It wasn't enough to send the bear back to his amulet, but made a cut that dripped golden energy instead of blood down the enormous, tattooed arm.

In the meantime, the female suit had gotten too close for Will's liking, and he faced her, fists raised. The suit prepared to fight as well, but it was too late. Like a viper's strike, the Casterwill's hand snapped forwards, punching the woman on the cheek, and spinning her around. As the suit tried to get her bearings, Will leapt into the air, and gave her a roundhouse kick to the back, sending her flying. He ran back to where Zhalia was standing, also in a fighting stance. "We have to back off!" The emerald-eyed lad ordered, running back down the corridor, and with a nod, she followed, midnight hair streaming out behind her. Seeing their Seeker's go, Sabriel and Kilthane dashed after them, defending their masters' retreats.

Defoe glowered at the vanishing figures. "Don't let them escape!" He bellowed. Grier, his two suits, and the suits' Mindrone nodded, and pelted after the Huntik pair, the third suit still sticking close to Defoe, as if the older man could keep him safe. Reaching inside his jacket, the greasy-haired man gave a grim smile. "Just to be safe..." He murmured to himself, pulling out the amulet of his manta-ray-like titan. "Emerge, Kr-" A thud from behind cut him off as he whirled to face a large suit of French armor with glowing blue eyes. As the suit beside the titan tried to run, one massive, oversized fist smashed into his back, and he went flying into a wall, out for the count.

"Don't move!" Crowed a voice from above, and with wide eyes, cursing to himself, Defoe looked up and met the eyes of Vale's final teammate. The Lambert child. How could he have forgotten her? The one thing the Professor wanted more than anything, the one that humiliated him in Prague! Blonde hair whipping to and fro in the wind from her titan's wings, the one that was bearing her aloft, her azure eyes glimmered with that same mocking light as ever, the same way her mentor looked when he ruined Defoe's plans. Then, just to set him over the edge, she smiled. Just a small, sarcastic quirk of the lips, a flicker of triumph, and she was just like him. Vale.

Defoe clutched his chest, unknowingly using the same tactic that Dante had used in Prague, and staggered to his knees, turning away from the teen and her titan. Whipping back, he shot a Poisonfang at the titan, sending it crashing to the floor with the thunderous sound of clanging metal. Before the blonde could react, the lanky man fired a Raypulse into Kipperin's right wing, and both titans swirled back to her in streams of green and blue light. "Featherdrop!" She cried, but the word had barely left her lips before she hit the ground, the power not having time to work. Golden hair covering her face, she gave a soft groan, rolling onto her back. "Still can't get the hang of that power." The girl muttered, blaming herself and not the short distance to the floor on the power's ineffectiveness.

With a snarl, Defoe reached down and grabbed the thin neck of his enemy, lifting her up so her feet were off the ground. His eyes glowed red behind his golden lenses, but Loki didn't flinch, instead glaring straight back. "No friends to save you now, and I'm sure the Professor won't mind it if your a little damaged." He grinned. With a hateful curl of her lip, the blonde teen spat in his face.

"Who says I need protecting?" She snapped, too angry to be frightened. A flicker of white caught her eye, and she looked away over Defoe's shoulder, spotting a little white titan waving at her from behind a corner. The azure-eyed Seeker smiled, and Defoe shook her, trying to regain superiority. Her smile grew, and she managed to choke out through the Organization man's tight grip on her throat: "I always thought you were stupid, Defoe, but I never realized it was this bad. Haven't you figured it out? This was part of Dante's plan all along!"

The fire in Defoe's eyes dimmed, and he looked down, thinking. His head snapped up again, the blood-red glow twice as strong as before. "You lie!" He barked, furious that he had let himself be fooled even for a second.

"If she's lying, why am I right behind you?" Came Dante's voice, as Cherit flew around the corner and mimicked his friend. Defoe whirled around, stunned, even more so when he came face to face with a titan instead of his hated rival. Using the distraction, and the fact that Defoe had loosen his hold on her, Loki lashed out, catching him between the legs. Defoe bent double, dropping his prize, and she dashed away, calling back to her friend.

"I've got the map, let's go!" Cherit swiftly flapped after her. The pair soon disappeared around a bend, and were gone. Defoe looked after them, snarling at the way he'd been beaten, yet again.

* * *

><p>AN: I was gonna take it further, but I like it there.<p>

Till next time folks!


	28. Chapter 27 Absent Heroes Part 3

AN: Sorry it took so long people- I had a friend around till last Saturday, then it was school, and then the internet broke again!

I hate that little box, but I can't live without it...

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 27- Absent Heroes Part 3

Loki ran, trying to figure out the map in her hands and use it to get to a safe place. In the end, she had to give on the meaningless scribbles. She needed a place where she could concentrate on deciphering them. Settling in a largish chamber, she sat and rested the map on her lap.

The map made perfect sense looking at it now, but without knowing where she was after her run through the tunnels, she had no idea where to go! Looking at the twisting maze that led to King Basilisk, the blonde shivered. This underground labyrinth was too much like the Catacombs for her liking.

Finally, her mind turned away from the puzzle before her, and moved on to other matters. "I'm glad your here, Cherit." Loki said at last, breaking the silence that had hovered over them since they'd fled from Defoe. "I don't think I could stand being alone in this place." She folded the map away, tucking it into the same pocket as her father's journal, and put her head in her hands.

Cherit nodded sagely. "I know, lass. Wide, open skies are more my thing." He ruffled his wings for emphasis, and the azure-eyed teen smiled at him.

They sat in silence for a while longer, before the girl spoke again. "We got away, but what happened to Will and Zhalia?" She asked, worry gleaming in her cyan orbs. The little creature on her shoulder gave her a reassuring look.

"Don't you worry, lassie. Those two are top notch. They'll find us in no time."

A cutting, sarcastic voice echoed around the room. "And so will the Organization if you aren't more careful." However mean the voice and its words were, it was familiar, and Loki leapt to her feet with a grin. Will and Zhalia walked down the stairs near where she was standing, the former smiling and the latter looking smug. "As for the henchmen, and Grier," The blue-haired agent continued, her smug look broadening. "We gave them all the slip."

Will looked his friend up and down, a slightly puzzled frown on his face. "So Loki, how did you finally get away from Defoe?" The blonde smiled at the memory, and gave a little laugh.

"I just did what I thought Dante would do." She explained. The light in her eyes dimmed, and she looked to the floor. "I sure wish he was with us now." The brunette beside her put his hand on her arm, comfortingly.

"I know what you mean." The boy said quietly, wondering where the russet-haired Seeker was. Zhalia nodded as well.

"Yeah." The group looked at her in surprise. It wasn't often that the coffee-orbed woman showed emotion, and rarer still that it was a nice one. A sly smile worked its way onto the azure-eyed teen's face as she put together what had happened in Iceland, and the melancholy look on Zhalia's face now. She held her tongue, however, wanting the pair to find it out on their own, a thing she was prone to doing with puzzles. That didn't mean that she would leave hints for them though...

Zhalia quickly amended her lapse in cold-heartedness. "I mean, he's a talented Seeker. He could come in useful." Deciding to go along with it, Loki nodded.

"If he was here, we could scan the map into his holotome." Will walked over and plopped himself on the ground by her feet, motioning for her to sit next to him.

"Not a problem, Loki." He laughed. "Ciphercall!" Blue fire glowed around his hands, lightening crackling between them, before flashing so brightly that none could look upon them. When the light had dimmed enough to see, the lightening had solidified into a rugged square of blue stone. It resembled a holotome, except for the fact that it looked older, and more tribal. It had none of the sleek lines of Dante's machine, and instead seemed to be hewn from rock. Symbols covered the lid, characters from long forgotten languages, and they glowed with the green power that seemed to power the machine.

The blonde looked at the machine in amazement, prodding it to see if it was real. "Will!" She said at last, laughing. "Why didn't you tell me you had a holotome?"

Opening the lid, the Casterwill shook his head. "Holotomes are merely the Foundation's copy of this, the Cipherdex, used by my family for generations." He held out his hand. "The map, if you'd please." Loki jumped, having forgotten about it in her excitement, and pulled in out of her belt-pouch before handing it over. Obviously showing off, Will lay it gently on the Cipherdex's scanner, then began to input the data.

Zhalia, hiding her interest in the very powerful object, padded over with her hands on her hips. "All Seeker groups have something like it, even the Organization."

Unknown to them all, a Mindrone hidden in the corner of the room was relaying their conversation back to his master, channeling the information to Defoe's holotome. Eyes gleaming behind his glasses, the man gave an evil smile. "I have them right where I want them." He growled.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, far above them all, Dante had finally reached his destination. It had taken him a while because he had walked the whole way, not wanting to use public transport, or any way that could be traced. His friend was very particular about that. Briefcase firmly in hand, he wandered calmly through the gardens in front of the Schönbrunn Palace. Passing the familiar statue of a young, half-naked man playing the flute- a follower of Pan, maybe?- the russet-haired man turned the corner, and padded over to a bench beside it. A man in a grey trenchcoat, grey scarf, and wide-brimmed hat of the same colour sat there, a steel grey briefcase, the mirror of Dante's own, at his feet. He was calmly feeding the pigeons that fluttered about the city, an action that was a odds with his hollow-cheeked, skeletal face.<p>

"I believe you have a friend in bed," The strange man said as Dante approached. "A little under the weather." Golden eyes hidden behind his emerald sunglasses, the Seeker sat down, his face revealing nothing.

"Chicken soup works wonders. Do you have any for sale?" He said after a moment. His black market contact nodded, hearing the password. Although he and Dante had met many times, for many different medications, he always checked. He knew a little of the Seeker World in his search for more medicines for his richest client, and had figured out that the man he knew as John Smith, the most common name in England, could easily be impersonated so well that even the man's mother- if he had one- couldn't tell the difference. The phrase was changed each time, hidden in a magazine sent to him by _'Cars Weekly', _a common enough name for the sort of thing a man would buy.

Another short pause in the conversation, as the grey man picked up Dante's briefcase, resting in on his lap whilst he checked the contents. He gave a quick smile, so fleeting that it looked like a grimace, then shut the lid. "I believe you'll find everything you requested." In one sharp gesture, Dante plucked the other briefcase from the ground, swiftly opening it, and running an experienced eye over the vials, tubes, bottles and boxes of possibly life-saving medicine within.

"We'll see." He stood, eyes cold as they met the eyes of the black market contact. "If there's a problem, you'll answer to me." The russet-haired man walked away without another word, tense incase the man tried anything funny. When he was a safe distance away, the young man relaxed slightly. "I swear I'll cure you, Metz, no matter what!" He thought passionately, remembering how much more weak and frail his mentor was since his last visit. It wouldn't be long now before Metz got too tired to wake up, and after that, too weak to breathe by himself. The nurse had told him, after that point, that it would only be a matter of time before his heart grew to weak to beat, and then... Dante trailed off, shaking his head. That would never happen- he wouldn't let it!

* * *

><p>Far beneath him, deep within the black labyrinth, Will's holotome had finally finished it's scan. "Cipherdex," The boy commanded, emerald eyes bright. "Show us the labyrinth."<p>

A moment passed before the machine responded, but not in the way that they had hoped. "Sorry, milord." A female voice with a strong British accent conveyed the Cipherdex's message. "Map scan corrupt. Display impossible."

Loki sighed, closing her eyes in disappointment. "Now what?" She moaned, wondering if they could even find their way out of the endless tunnels, each one made of the same, shiny stone.

Zhalia gave a short bark of laughter, as if she'd expected it. "So much for the superior Cipherdex technology!" She jeered, lip curling in spite. Will shook his head, narrowing his jade eyes at both the map and the sapphire-locked Seeker.

"No!" He breathed, hope glimmering in his eyes. "Wait! There's a mystic laminate that's blocking the scanning!" Passing a glowing hand over the sheet of paper, the Casterwill muttered a quick Breakspell, then repositioned the map on the machine's scanner. The coffee-orbed woman standing in front of him sighed, and grudgingly inclined her head in what might have been an apology on any other person.

"I guess that's why Defoe didn't scan it himself." Was all she would say, but it was a step further than the cold-hearted, dead-eyed woman that had helped them in Prague.

"Okay, Cipherdex, trying it again!" The brunette spoke gently to the holotome, as if it were an old friend, and Loki supposed it was. With no parents, any artefact from his family must be precious. She felt the same way about her father's things, the journal included.

Almost immediately, the Cipherdex revealed the labarynth. One room, at the end of a long series of tunnels, glowed red. Loki gave an impish smile, brightening now that the end of their time in the maze was in sight. "That must be our goal!"

Standing, and using the Ciphercall to send the machine away again, Will grinned. "We go down here 30 meters, and hang a right." He pointed to one opening in the dark rock, and Zhalia set off, leading the group.

"Let's not waste any time then!" Loki jumped up, bouncing on her heels as she often did when she was excited, and scampered after her, leaving Will to bring up the rear. The dark-haired boy didn't trust Zhalia, and had decided to go to the back only to keep an eye on her every move.

Cherit settled back into the up-and-down rhythm of Loki's walk, smiling gently. "It'll be forever and a day till those suits find us, I say!" He crowed quietly. The blonde on who he was resting nodded, careful not to disrupt her friend.

"Yeah!" The azure-eyed teen whispered back. "They don't have a map, so we're in the clear!"

She had spoken too soon.

Loki paused, feeling the strange urge to scent the air, or check. Something felt wrong, like something was lurking, a malevolent presence filling her senses. Will passed her, walking up to Zhalia's side, too busy watching the 'untrustworthy' Seeker to notice the danger. The pair walked past a turn off, and slowed, waiting for their friend. That was their undoing. If they had kept going, perhaps they would have stood a chance against the two Redcaps hiding, waiting to ambush them.

Will was the first to notice the shifting in the shadows, and a warning had barely left his lips before he was swatted by one massive, clawed hand. Zhalia spun, hearing his yell, and got hit from behind, falling to the floor, trapped before she could react.

Down the corridor, a Mindrone leapt from its hiding place, and shot Cherit from the air, where he'd flown in horror as his friends were attacked. With wide eyes, and a trembling hand, Loki yanked Freelancer from her pocket, and raised him above her head, calling his name. Glowing, she had almost finished the summons before Defoe himself appeared and fired a Raypulse at her wrist. Freelancer's shield-like amulet flew through the air, landing in a bag held open by Grier. He growled when his eyes met the blonde girl's, sea-green to sea-blue.

She backed away, eyes desperately searching for some way to escape, or help her friends. Oh, how she wished Dante was here! He'd have blasted these suits to kingdom come before they'd been overcome- no, wait! If Dante were here, he'd have noticed them _before _they were ambushed!

Feeling something brush her back, the pale girl span on a heel, tripping as the thing pushed her over. It was Kreutalk, that vile, alien manta-ray. It hovered over her, its face in her's, and Loki shivered, repulsed by the aura that clung to the creature like a bad smell.

Defoe sauntered over, smug and proud. He waved the map in front of Loki's narrowed eyes, revealing the thing she had felt on her back was Kreutalk stealing the map from her pocket. She glared at the man before her, baring her teeth in a fangless snarl that would have looked more at home on some wild animal of the night. Her body shaking with anger, the blonde tried to launch herself at the man she thought had ruined her peaceful life, however much she loved the one she had now. Kreutalk rammed her in the gut, and she fell back, rolling head-over-heels before stopping. Balancing in a graceful crouch, her hair falling over her face, she felt an emotion that she'd never felt before, something that scared her. _Bloodlust_. Not only did this feeling contrast with her easy-going nature, and her love for most things, but it stirred the power that she held within her, and it reared up, casting her in a pale blue glow as she prepared to fight. She was stopped by five words from her enemy. "Fight and your friends die." The light died away, and Loki was forced to give up.

"I hope the map was as useful to me as it was to you." Defoe crowed, pulling another growl from behind Loki's clenched teeth. "Fools! I was the one who coated it with Stop-Scan-Shellac, after scanning it myself, of course." He marched forwards, shoes clicking against the floor as Kreutalk went for the blonde again. She dodged, but the manta-ray twisted to follow her, his long, whip-like tail catching her in the back. The azure-eyed teen went flying, rolling to a stop near Defoe's feet. Eyes widening as she realized how close she was to her enemies, Loki made to leap away, but was stopped by the greasy man before her taking a step forwards and placing a foot firmly on her chest.

"A brilliant trap!" He murmured to himself, eyes flashing with malicious glee behind his glasses. He clicked his fingers, and the green amulet around his prisoner's neck was surrounded by a multicoloured circle. "Sorrowbond!" Defoe held out his hand, and the pendant strained against its chain till it snapped, and the amulet floated to his waiting palm.

"No!" Loki screamed, suddenly losing her tie to not only one of her cherished titans, but her father as well. "Kipperin!" She called for him desperately with both her mouth and mind.

Defoe grinned at her reaction, knowing just what he had done. "I think you need some time away from your dangerous little toys." He purred, curling his fist around his stolen amulet. "Restrain them." He waved his other hand, and the suits dragged Loki to her feet, tying her up alongside an already bound Will and Zhalia. The shaking that consumed her body was caused entirely by rage and disgust for the man that had captured them, but the emerald-eyed boy thought she was scared, and reached out a shackled hand to her. Startled, the blonde jumped, but she smiled at Will reassuringly.

In the meantime, Defoe was finding that Loki's titan was just as tricky and unpredictable as her. He prodded the luminous shell around the green pendent, muttering quietly to himself. "And what do we have here?"

_"Not yours! Never fly with wingless soul! Bad grounded two-leg! Bad BAD __BAD__!" _Defoe frowned, his lip curling slightly.

"What's this?" He gripped the amulet tighter, as if hurting the amulet could hurt the titan within.

"_No NO __NO __NO__! __LOKI LOKI LOKI LOKI!_" The creature thrummed the girl's name, reaching for that link that he had with her, needing the comfort of her mind against the cruel soul trying to bond with him.

"You're a feisty one." Defoe spat out, grinding his teeth in frustration.

"_I WILL NOT BOW TO YOU, NASTY MAN! I FLY FREE WITH __**LOKI**__!_" Kipperin shrieked down the temporary Bond, pushing back the force trying to bend his will. He loved Loki, felt the kindred spirit within her, felt how light and free she was, how easily she could fly if she would just open her wings! He would never join with this grounded, wingless, evil thing!

With a sigh that was more of a hiss than anything else, Defoe gave up... for now. "But enough of this. I have a titan to claim." Pocketing Kipperin, the only thing he had managed to glean from the titan within the pendant being its name, he marched off down the corridor, with the rest of the group following without a word.

* * *

><p>On the surface, Dante was opening the door to his temporary home, eyes filled with turmoil and churning emotions behind his emerald sunglasses. When he found the house empty, the russet-haired man stopped in shock, before switching on the light. Even though he had told his friends not to wait for him, he hadn't expected them to actually <em>do <em>it. "Seems like I didn't get invited to the party." He muttered to himself.

Placing the briefcase carefully on the table, the golden-eyed man sighed and went to check upstairs. The teens were probably trying to best each other at puzzles, listening to music with head phones on (Loki was notorious for not listening when she was on her iPod) or reading quietly. His hopes were dashed when his search upstairs revealed nothing except the fact that both the journal and Will's Cipherdex were gone.

Dante sighed again, something that was happening more and more when it came to the teens, and went downstairs. A crumpled piece of paper caught his eye, and he picked it up, curious. "This is the map Zhalia was looking at..." Putting it down, the amber-eyed Seeker was about to just settle down with a book and wait, when the golden light on the sunset made him stop, heart clenched with worry.

A quick glance at the clock confirming his suspicions, he took a moment to work it out in his head before striding over to the light-switch, legs eating up the ground. "If it is a party, I'll just have to crash it."

The sunset had made Dante realize that if the teens were just checking out the city, they'd have come back by now. The time was too late, and he had a feeling he was too...

* * *

><p>The rest of his team were being marched, pushed and shoved along the tunnels, till they reached the largest room yet. Unlike the rest of the maze, the stone in this chamber was a more welcoming, natural, sand-stone colour than glossy black, giving the space a homey, comforting air that was quite at odds with its true purpose. At one end of the hall was a massive stage. Thick, purple curtains covered it, but at one end, the tip of a scaly tail in a painting on the wall could be seen. With a smile of triumph, Defoe gestured at two suits by the wall. "You two. It's time for the final act. Draw the curtain." Loki snorted and rolled her cobalt eyes, earning a yank on her chain and a glare from the suits guarding her and the others.<p>

The two suits saluted nervously, and sprinted to the curtain. As they pulled it aside, a massive creature took shape on the wall behind. It was like the serpent on the roof outside, but there were many differences.

Sitting on its muscular hindlegs, King Basilisk, for there was no doubt it was none other than he, had a curved back, long claws on the end of each pointed foot, and spines rippling along his back. Great, bat-like wings sprouted from his proud shoulders, and he bore gold bands upon his wrists as marks of his servitude. Then, as the head was being revealed, one suit made the mistake of looking up.

He gazed in wonder at the head of the mighty titan for one moment, then screamed, threw up his arms and turned to stone.

The entire group- Foundation and Organization alike- gasped in horror and fear, save for one man. Defoe just gave a little laugh, a cruel smile on his face. "Oh my, how tragic." He didn't sound remorseful at all. "Guess we'll need some more guinea pigs." The suits began to back away, each trying to force the other to stand in front of them. They stilled at his next words.

"Luckily, the Huntik Foundation has been kind enough to donate a few." The Foundation trio bit their lips, and edged closer together, seeking the safety in numbers, even though they knew it made no difference. "Our little fly-girl and the Casterwill brat go first. You do like puzzles, no?" He mocked as Will and Loki were unshackled, and shoved towards the dreaded trap, stumbling at the harsh treatment.

Loki turned to Defoe, back straight, head up and proud. "I do, but even I know when a puzzle will cost me my neck, Defoe. You might want to do the same." And then she turned and sauntered off, leaving the greasy-haired man to figure out the meaning behind her spiteful words. Will, after looking back at the Augerfrost-wielding suits, sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. As he hurried after his blonde friend, Defoe's eyes widened behind his glasses as he realized, in his anger and victory, he had just jepardized the Professor's most wanted possession, but he couldn't stop them now without seeming weak, a thing he would never do.

"No choice." Will muttered when he caught up with Loki, tilting his head back at the suits. The azure-eyed girl nodded, and the fire in her eyes went out. Her bravery had been a bluff.

"I don't want to end up as a lawn sculpture!" She hissed to her friend, looking at the ex-suit with worried eyes. Will, following her gaze, gulped nervously. Loki pretended to be shocked, but her voice trembled all the same. "Are you, William Casterwill, heir to the best Seeker family in the world, _scared_?" The girl forced a laugh past her lips, but her eyes kept flicking to the stone figure in front of them.

The brunette adamantly shook his head. "If we keep calm and think this through, we'll be fine." A sinister laugh floated behind them.

"Hurry children." Defoe purred, triumph coating every syllable like honey.

The teens crept up the stairs to the dias, trying to think of a plan. Loki decided to take Defoe's advice, a thing that would never happen again, and think of it as a puzzle instead of a death trap. She began to list facts, trying to see a pattern."They were both fine when they were pulling the curtain." Azure eyes widened as they traced the body of the titan in the picture. "Only the one who looked up got turned to stone." The blonde breathed, her eyes fixed on the place the curtain stopped, at the end of the neck.

Will, quickly working it out for himself, looked up too. "I bet the head's up there... " They both fell silent for a moment, gazing up at the serpentine creature. Suddenly, the Casterwill remembered the statue outside, and the conversation he had Loki had had beneath its head. He quickly alerted his friend to his discovery. "In the legend of the basilisk, the creature turned victims to stone with its gaze!"

The Irish lass beside started trying to fit the pieces together. "Maybe we can try looking at the problem in reverse. Remember when I solved that puzzle with the mi-" She broke off, gasping. "A mirror! That's it!" As the blonde began rooting around in her pockets, Will followed his friend's train of thought.

"This thick, black curtain absorbs light, and blocks the trap. But a mirror is the opposite! It reflects light, and should turn the trap on itself!" For a moment, the boy recalled the traps left by Joan of Arc, and her obsession with light traps, then he came back to Earth with a bump. "Where are we meant to find a mirror in this underground maze?"

Loki finally found what she was looking for, and a sly smile curved the corners of her lips, making her eyes glint with a mischievous light. "It maybe small, but it reflects." She said, pulling out her prize. Will gaped at it for a second, then gawped at his friend.

"You want to bet us turning to stone on a _make-up case_?"

The girl nodded, flicking her hair out of her eyes. "Want to reflect it with your sparkling personality? My money's on the eyeshadow." She dashed forwards without another word, knowing that time was running out. "Whatever you do, don't open your eyes!" She commanded, shutting her own and opening the make-up case. Lifting it above her head, she bit her lip before ordering Will to draw the curtain.

Purple light engulfed the mirror, and Loki began to shake under the strain of keeping it aloft. It was as if the basilisk's gaze was solid, and was pushing at the mirror, trying to snap it or bend it. Will cried out, feeling the immense pressure that made him sink to the floor and raise a hand to shield his eyes. "Loki! Hurry!" His friend resisted the urge to scoff. As if she could do anything to hurry this along, or even make it work!

All at once, she felt a shift in the balance of power, and the power shot back from her in a brilliant, violet beam, shattering not only the trap, but the entire wall too! Jumping back to avoid the falling debris, the teens covered their heads and crouched low to the floor.

When the dust had cleared, they stared in amazement at the fruits of their work. "There's another room!" Loki had time to whisper, before Will was yanked away from behind, and she felt an almost familiar hand snake around her throat, lifting her to her feet, then into the air.

"Now that you've done my dirty work, we can pick up where we left off."

Choking as he tightened his hold, the azure-eyed teen sneered, refusing to let Defoe see her fear. "This is getting... old now Defoe! It doesn't hurt... to be original!"

Defoe shook his head, smiling softly. "No, but it doesn't matter whether I'm original or not. _You'll _get hurt either way."

Looking away from the eyes burning with hate and victory behind the gold lenses, Loki caught sight of a shadow moving silently along the wall of the chamber. She smiled, then looked down on Defoe, getting a deliberate sense of Deja Vu. "Don't you get it, Defoe? This is all part of Dante's plan!"

As predicted, the lanky man snarled, the mere mention of his rival's name setting his teeth on edge. "I'll burn you to ashes for trying such a simple lie twice." He growled from behind clenched teeth, glowing a vile, sickly green. The ugly, misty fog flowed along his arm, but just before it reached its target, a voice rang out in the dusty room.

"If she's lying, then why am I right behind you?"

It was Dante, this time in person, and not just Cherit's impression of him. He shot Defoe a cheeky grin, his amber eyes sparking, stepping forwards from where Loki had seen him creeping closer.

Defoe's eyes widened almost comically, and he span, twisting his hold on his captive so he had her in front of him, one thin arm wrapped around her neck. The blonde strained against his every move, but Defoe was bigger than her, for all he was thin, and he easily overcame her struggles. Dante took one step forwards, but Defoe pulled the canister filled with Kreutalk's acid from around his neck, where it nestled with the amulet of the manta-ray-like titan, and held it threatingly over his hostage. "No fur-"

He himself got no further, for Solwing swooped from his place hiding amongst the rafters, a trick he often used, and grabbed the white tube, scratching Defoe's hand with his talons in the process. He then circled high above them, screeching in a way that sounded almost... mocking.

In that moment of distraction, Loki's eyes hardened into sapphires, and she lashed out with a foot, catching Defoe in a place that made him double over in pain. As he went down, the blonde wriggled out of his weakened grasp, and leapt up. She landed, crouched, a few meters away from her captor, and gave him a wicked smile when he straightened. If he tried to catch her again, he'd better be prepared for more than a kick below the belt!

Seeing that he was going to get beaten soundly against either one of his opponents, Defoe wretched an amulet from his throat. "Emerge, Kreutalk!" The manta-ray streamed from his pendent, straight into Solwing, who tumbled to the ground, then disappeared into his amulet in a stream of blue light.

In response, Dante called out his favourite partner, and the Aztec warrior Caliban leapt to his side. "Let's clean house." The russet-haired man said with a smile, and the titan nodded, having gotten used to his Seeker's strange phrases years ago.

The two men faced each other, eyes locked. Dante took a step forwards, with Defoe skittering back, and Grier clasped the amulet at his throat. "Suppress him, Breaker!" The four-armed bear charged for his target, thudding along the floor like a furry train. Loki wanted to help her friend and mentor, but without her titans, she was useless against such a big opponent.

Caliban warned his Seeker, then jumped though the air, looking like he was flying, and smashed into Breaker, halting both of their charges. Dante and Grier soon copied their titans, clashing in furious battle.

At the edge of the fight, a still shackled Zhalia got bored with playing prisoner. She whipped a leg behind her, clipping the suit in the chest. The hard-hat-wearing individual went soaring, hitting a wall with a sickening _crack_. The blue-haired woman either didn't notice, or didn't care, and instead shook the hand-cuffs from her wrists, placing the lock pick that she had used to free herself back in the secret compartment in her boot. "Here's where things get interesting." She murmured. Though she wasn't the all-who-ever-did-me-the-slightest-wrong-must-die-at-my-hand kinda gal, she did want to get her own back on the people who had tried to capture her.

In the meantime, Will and Loki had banded together in on corner of the chamber, working together to keep the tide of suits at bay. But there were too many, and the teens soon found themselves being pushed back, and losing ground to the Organization. "No good!" The blonde gasped as they felt their backs hit the wall. "We can't fight them without our titans!"

Cherit, who was flying around their heads and using his tiny fists to try and help, pointed over to the opposite corner. "Defoe dropped his bag, over there!" The trio craned their necks to see over the suits.

"Its gone!" Will cried, losing hope.

A suit saw how they were distracted, and tried to take advantage of it. "Now! Raypulse!" The crackling beam streaked towards the Foundation agents, but Will quickly stepped in front of his friends and called forth a Honourguard to protect them.

"I can't hold it!" He warned his friends, as the shield began to tremble. A strange, low growling came from behind them, then Loki felt little claws on her shoulder, and scales brush her cheek. Smiling, the azure-eyed girl turned her head slightly to look at the newcomer.

Gareon dropped his invisibility, and offered the teens the bag he was holding with his tail. With relieved grins, the pair reclaimed their titans, the Sorrowbonds dissolving at the touch of the amulets' rightful owners.

Will dropped the Honourguard, lifting his hands to the ceiling. "Turn the tables, Sabriel!" The pink-haired woman appeared in a burst of peach-coloured light, bowed to her master, then rushed her enemies.

With a smile, Loki followed the brunette's example, and summoned Freelancer in a wave of cobalt fire. Freelancer inclined his head to his mistress, then joined the fight. Running after him, more confident now that the armored titan was by her side, the blonde spoke briefly with her lance-wielding friend.

"Good to have you back, Freelancer." She said across the Bond. He replied instantly, joy at both the battle and their reunion bringing a smile to his Seeker's face.

_"Good to _be _back, Loki."_

With their titans at their side, Loki and Will had soon defeated a large portion of the suits and enemy titans, leaving Grier and Breaker to circle Dante and Caliban undisturbed.

It also left Zhalia free to sneak around the fighting, and slip into the newly discovered tunnel. In the near darkness of the enclosed space, the blue-haired woman had to trail a hand along the wall to find her way, but hurried none the less, knowing that King Basilisk must not fall into the Organization's hands. At the end of the corridor, was a gigantic statue of the titan. His head was as big as Zhalia's entire upper body, and he was at least three or four times as tall as Dante. His wings cast long, dark shadows along the walls and floors. He truly was the stuff of nightmares.

Feeling fear stir in her heart, the coffee-orbed Seeker reached a hand forwards to rest it tentativley on the titan's muzzle. Both she and the statue began to glow with a blinding, violet light. "Its not exactly friendly..." Zhalia ground out, gritting her teeth. "Can I even bond with it?"

* * *

><p>Back with the rest of the team, the fight seemed to be turning in their favour. The teens, grinning broadly, high-fived each other as they finished off the suits, then ran to help their titans, who were charging Kreutalk.<p>

Then, it all went wrong. The giant manta-ray spewed a torrent of acid at the Huntik titans, immobilizing them just as their Seekers drew near. "No!" The blonde cried out, feeling Freelancer's pain across the Bond, and knowing she had no way to help him. Before she could even fire a shot at the titan who had hurt her friend, Gar-Ghoul appeared as if from nowhere, smashing into the shield-wielding titan. Loki gasped, wincing as her only fighter settled back into his pendant.

Above them all, a large, blue-skinned man wearing Greek amour with wings instead of arms summoned a ball of sparkling energy, aiming it at Gar-Ghoul. It was Icarus, one of Will's titans, and not one that he used often, relying more on Sabriel. Just before the bird-man released his power, he was shot in the back by Kreutalk's acid attack, sending him back to his amulet in a stream of turquoise light. "No!" Will yelled, feeling the tide of the battle turning against them.

In that moment, the battle was lost. Breaker wrapped his four arms around Caliban as the Aztec was distracted by his fellow titans' defeats, pulling him apart till he evaporated into lightening. The light flowed back to Dante, who winced, backing away from Grier. "Well," He panted. "This isn't good."

As Grier advanced on Dante, Defoe did the same to the teens, his two titans flanking him, making escape impossible. Loki began to reach for her power, now that her friends were in no position to be used against her, but was stopped by a voice from the other end of the hall. "You still have to deal with me." It was Zhalia, her coffee-coloured eyes cold, in a fighting stance.

Defoe didn't give the blue-haired woman much attention. "She's bluffing. Look at her! She failed to Bond with the titan." His eyes fell upon the tribal bear that belong to his second-in-command. It was swiping at Dante, almost hitting him each time. Eyes narrowing behind his glasses, a cruel smile flickered across Defoe's rat-like features. "Grier."

With a nod, the blond called his titan off the russet-haired Seeker, and set it after Zhalia instead. Dante tried to keep Breaker's attention on him, but he failed. A merciless smile crept onto the blue-haired Seeker's face, and her mocha eyes turned purple.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Make them tremble, King Basilisk!" A titan identical to both the picture on the wall, and the statue that lay beyond materialized in a blast of lilac, and before anyone could react to its overwhelming presence, Breaker was a statue at the base of the stairs. The statue crumbled, and the titan returned to Grier. Everyone stared at the serpentine creature, but none looked higher than its neck. It filled the hall, towering and oppressive, hissing softly.

Loki was the first to recover. "Did you see that?" She whispered to Will, who just nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing at Zhalia. This titan was obviously bloodthirsty, and dangerous- and didn't everyone say that titans only Bonded with Seekers that were alike to them in personality?

Defoe gaped at the woman he had so casually dismissed a moment ago. "Impossible." He breathed, already wondering how he could fight such a powerful titan. It rivaled even Metagolem in strength!

The newest owner of King Basilisk strode forwards to the ex-suit sculpture, a cunning smile tipping the corners of her lips. "You have two options." She purred, in her element. "A, you turn tail and hope I don't send him after you, and B, the pedestal in the other room gets a lovely new statue." The huge titan behind her roared, as if to prove a point. Defoe frowned, knowing he had lost.

* * *

><p>It took a few minutes for the Organization to make their retreat, and as soon as the last suit had scarpered through the door, Zhalia recalled her new titan to his amulet. Will, who was already suspicious of the woman, took this the wrong way- instead of an act of mercy, something he believed she didn't possess, he thought she was allowing them to live because she was one of them. "Why did you let them go?" The Casterwill demanded sharply, emerald eyes blazing.<p>

The blue-haired woman walked down the stairs from the stage, letting Dante answer for her. "She didn't have a choice." A weak smile flickered on Zhalia's face, before she collapsed, worn out. The golden-eyed man who had been closest to her darted forwards to catch her before she hit the ground, amber eyes filled with worry. "Summoning a powerful titan like King Basilisk is exhausting."

Loki's mouth fell open, her eyes wide. "She bluffed?" The blonde asked, her voice filled with new respect for her teammate. "No way!"

* * *

><p>Once Zhalia had come to, the team began the long walk back to the surface. Will led the way for most of it, having stored the map in the Cipherdex earlier. Dante supported Zhalia the entire time, a look of tender care on his face, which he wiped off whenever he thought anyone, including Zhalia, was looking. Loki saw, however, and added it to her list of reasons why the pair would make a good couple.<p>

As the team reached the large, square door at the beginning of the tunnels, a glint in the corner of the room caught Loki's eye. It was a key, and as she picked it up, she was struck by a curious sense of Deja Vu. Taking a moment to think, the blonde soon remembered where she'd seen the object before. A sketch of the rectangular key was in her father's journal, a few pages before it mentioned the address in Vienna. "Why is this thing here?" The girl asked herself.

Will, noticing that the azure-eyed teen wasn't with the main group, called for her to hurry up, and after pocketing the strange thing, she complied.

* * *

><p>By the time they'd gotten back to the safehouse, Loki had completely forgotten about the key in her back pocket, till she sat down later that evening and it dug into her side uncomfortably. Pulling it out, the teen held it between her two index fingers, brow furrowed with thought. Cherit flew over from where he was raiding the kitchen, curious. Seeing her little friend land on the table in front of her, the blonde looked up, frowning.<p>

"This key was in Dad's journal. Why did the Organization have it?" The titan looked shocked- he'd figured it was just another strange item that Loki had picked up, as she was prone to doing.

"Can't be sure. Perhaps they were both after the same treasure." As the pair mulled it over, a terrible thought entered the girl's head, and she blurted it out before she could stop herself.

"You don't think my dad worked for the Professor, do you?" Cherit shook his head adamantly.

"Perish the thought! You're father was part of the Huntik Foundation- you must never forget that!"

Dante looked up from where he was reading a book, leaning against the wall. "Cherit's right." He assured the teen. "You're father was a good man."

The blonde didn't look convinced. "Yeah, but he had so many secrets." She stood, and walked over to the stairs. Pausing at the first step, she looked back at Dante with eyes that seemed strangley adult in her childish face. "I don't know what to believe anymore, or even who."

Her russet-haired mentor stared after her long after she'd gone, thinking back 11 years to when his whole world had come crashing down. True, he'd been quite a few years younger than Loki, 7 years old to be exact, but the girl was so innocent, naive and childish that she may as well have been ten years younger. He'd been so lost and confused then that he didn't know who to trust, but he'd come through because of the help and guidance of his closest friends, and Metz. His gaze strayed to the silver briefcase on the table, and he prayed that this time he'd found the cure. If not, there was only so much longer his friend could last...

* * *

><p>AN: And there we have it. Everyone's moody- Dante's worried about Metz, Zhalia's exhausted after invoking Kingy boy for the first time, Will's even more suspicious about Zhalia, and Loki's having a faith crisis!<p> 


	29. Chapter 28 The Treasure of the Argonauts

AN: Chapter's up, peeeeeeeps. Hope this quick update makes up for the long time it took last time!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 28- The Treasure of the Argonauts Part 1

The team traveled back to their various homes the next day, with Zhalia disappearing in the crush of the airport without saying goodbye. Dante's thoughts flickered between her and his mentor the whole journey home, leaving the teens to amuse themselves- Loki was doing card tricks, and teaching Will to do some of the simpler ones, she herself was good at slight-of-hand magic, but still had to learn to master the most difficult trick.

Will said goodbye at the Venetian airport, calling over his shoulder as he dodged through the crowd to where LeBlanche was waiting with the car. Loki waved manically till he was out of sight, then trudged along after her mentor, who was still lost in his own thoughts. When they finally arrived back at Dante's house, the blonde was beginning to get worried about the russet-haired man- he'd not responded at all during the trip back to Venice, not even to say goodbye to Will. In the couple of days following the mission in Vienna, training with Will pushed these thoughts from her busy mind, but she kept an eye on him all the same.

* * *

><p>Loki sighed. It was the fifth day after Vienna, and Will had decided to move on to sparing. He'd deemed the blonde ready the day after they'd gotten back from the mission, and had been relentlessly pushing her limits since. It was not going well.<p>

The pair circled each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to strike first, a match of patience that the younger won. Will sprang forwards like a panther, and lashed out with his leg, his opponent flipping backwards, balancing delicately on her hands before flipping back to her feet, towards Will, and using the momentum to strike a kick at his stomach. She stopped just before it hit, and her partner leapt up to the roof, crouching in a corner made by a rafter and the wall. "Remember what Dante told us! Commit to the attack, even if you expect a counter!"

The azure-eyed teen below him glowered furiously. "Are you saying I have commitment issues?" She remained still for a moment then, suddenly, Hyperstrided upwards to the rafter across from him, using the beam as she used the bar at gymnastics to launch herself at the emerald-eyed boy. He darted away, falling to the floor to meet her challenge on solid ground. She twisted to follow, as lithe and sinuous as a snake, but skinned her bare feet on the old, splintery wood of the rafter. Biting her lip to hold back the cry of pain, she used Featherdrop to float gently to the floor, then brought the First Aid kit that they kept in the practice room over to her with a Bubblelift.

Desperately trying to hold back his laughter, the Casterwill lad padded over, a cocky smile on his face. "Smooth. Do you want to spar, or are you going to keep fighting yourself?" From the floor, it just looked like the girl had missed her landing, got hit, and fallen down, so when he was met with a cobalt glare, he stopped surprised.

Unknown to him, the words had struck home with Loki. She did fight herself, regularly, whenever the strange power within her raised its head. Though she had better control of it now, the blue-grey mist more often took control than she did. Embarrassed by her fall, in pain from her feet, and just tired of always being scared of herself, the blonde lashed out at her friend. "Oh, of course you get it, Mr. I-was-raised-from-birth-to-be-a-Seeker!"

Will, who never took kindly to being spoken to like that, even less so when it came from his best friend, narrowed his eyes. "Dante just told us that spell talent should be an extension of your natural technique. You're so obvious and awkward- you did better when you couldn't use powers!" Inwardly, the blonde winced. That remark had stung.

"Dante's lessons always make sense to me!" She spat, every muscle tense at what had to be her and Will's first fight. "Just go away!"

The Casterwill shook his head stubborn as always. "We practice every day, and you haven't improved at all since we got back from the last mission!" Azure eyes were rolled as the Irish lass thought back upon her training- not what she did in with Will, oh no. At night, when everyone else was asleep, she would try and summon and control her power where no one could get hurt. It left her drained the next day, which meant drops in her other studies and getting beaten by Will, but now she could make it appear and disappear without many problems. Of course, she hadn't tried to make it do anything yet, deciding to take it slow, and she still knew that in a fight, the power would direct itself. That scared her, the way that no matter what she did, if the power too over, she wouldn't be able to stop it, not even to save her friends.

This happy thought in mind, the girl stood, and began to walk away. "I was going to study, but you were in the library yesterday, so I figured the books were still tired." Loki called over her shoulder, too exhausted to think of anything else. Will, seeing that something other than being beaten was wrong with his friend, went after her, eyes filled with worry.

"Loki?" She paused. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?" With a sigh, she turned back.

"It's nothing. Just the same old worries- what's going to happen, are we all going to be safe, am I ever going to be able to control my powers?" The last one slipped out before she could stop it, and understanding dawned in Will's jade orbs. Being so gentle and kind, having such unpredictable, destructive powers still scared Loki, and Will knew that better than most, having been the one she talked to about it all. He still marveled at the blue-grey power every time he saw it, but when it came down to it, it scared him too. Nothing had ever been seen like it before, and probably never would again, so the sapphire-orbed teen was going blind with it, trying to force it to work with her by pure strength of will. The way she talked about it, it was like it had its own mind.

The brunette walked over to where Loki stood, head bowed, hesitated, then drew her into a hug which she quickly returned. "You're not alone." He said simply, and she nodded once, an apology in her cyan eyes, one which Will wordlessly accepted. Hearing Cherit calling for them, the teens hurriedly stepped apart, red-faced and embarrassed. When the titan peered into the room, he stared at them shrewdly for a second, then smiled.

"Dante's getting a mission from Guggenheim! You should get down there and see what it's all about!"

* * *

><p>A quick change out of their training clothes later, and the teens wandered downstairs, sharing excited glances. As usual, the Huntik operative's cheery face was on the massive TV screen, and the golden-eyed Seeker was lounging on an armchair, feet on the table.<p>

"According to Greek mythology," Dante was saying, "Their flagship, the Argo, was built around the beam of a divine tree." Will smiled, and spoke up from where he and Loki were hovering at the door.

"Which probably means it was really enchanted by a Seeker. You must be talking about Jason and the Argonauts." Dante nodded, eyes serious, and Guggenheim looked over. Seeing the blond's gaze fall upon her, Loki smiled shyly, and waved hello. The man nodded back, then turned to Dante, who began speaking again.

"That's right. It's possible that the hull of the ship could be intact." With a happy sigh, Guggenheim began to explain the details.

"Misson: Jason and the Argonauts. Reach the port of Velos, find the flagship Argo, retrieve Jason's logbook and his titans, the Hoplites." Pictures of a quaint, Mediterranean fishing village filled the screen, then a picture of what the ship should look like, and finally a mission card.

A smile tilted the corners of Dante's lips. "Guggenheim, I accept." The Foundation man smiled, then signed off, the screen going black. With a funny, little grin, Dante got to his feet, walking to the front door and taking down his coat. At Loki's inquisitive look, the smile grew. "I know what you're thinking, Loki. A mission at last, am I right?" An answering smile appeared on the blonde's face, and she laughed, nodding.

"And I can guess what you're thinking too! This is a big mission too, and we'll need Zhalia's help?" The man and the girl stared at each other for a moment, before both laughed, the dark moods that had hung about them since Vienna clearing as they shared a look, both in that moment promising to help the other get through whatever had caused it. Dante's amber eyes softened, and as he walked to the post office, the little smile never left his face as he thought about his family, the true one he had found in Loki, Will, Metz... and maybe Zhalia.

* * *

><p>The next day saw the team, newly reunited, smiling and laughing under the Mediterranean sun. They walked the length of the docks, talking to the fishermen there, learning what they could. Will and Dante fit right in with the lean, tanned men, discussing the fish prices and the tides, leaving the girls to walk by themselves, mingling with the fisher's wives. After stopping for lunch, they mixed up the pairs and tried the docks they hadn't reached yet. Smiling and joking with the fishermen, the teens quickly learnt of a likely place, forming a solid friendship with the group of men quickly. As they were waving goodbye, seeing that it was time to meet up with the others, one fisherman looked shocked when they raised their hands, then spouted a bunch of Greek. Loki flushed, and tugged Will away.<p>

"What?" He cried, not knowing much Greek, having spoken in his native tongue, not theirs. "What did they say?" After much nagging, and a few threats, the blonde told the brunette what the fisher had said.

"He told you to reel in your net whilst it holds such a pretty fish." Will gaped at his friend, then looked back over his shoulder at the smiling man. He wolf-whistled, then pointed at Loki, who blushed again, then grabbed Will's hand, and pulled the shocked boy away.

When he finally overcame the shock, a rueful smile played across his face. "Why, Loki, I thought you would have at least thanked the fisherman for the compliment." She pulled her tongue at him, then grinned.

"Being called pretty by that old man is hardly flattering!" Pouting playfully, she nudged him in the side. "But its a sight better than looking like you!" Will grinned wolfishly, then got his revenge by tickling Loki mercilessly. She shrieked, and ran away, giggling. Her tormentor followed, their laughter lingering on the air long after they had gone.

* * *

><p>When the pair reached the meeting point, they'd calmed down, a little. The warm weather and the excitement of being on a mission had perked everyone right up, and even the normally sullen Zhalia was smiling. After ordering drinks at the cafe they'd met up in, Dante asked the teens what they had found. "There is a river several miles north of the coast." Will said, sipping at his cup of tea<p>

Being mock serious, Loki nodded, stirring her lemonade with her straw. "The fishers called it Stavropolous." Zhalia nodded coolly, her eyes the same colour of the coffee she was drinking.

"That's what we got." The blonde wrinkled her nose, looking at the cappuccino the blue-haired woman was cupping.

"How can you stand that stuff? It tastes awful!" Will had to agree, his emerald eyes glinting over the rim of his mug. Zhalia just shrugged, and took another drink.

"I like it." Dante sighed, rolling his eyes at the azure-eyed girl's disgusted face.

He coughed lightly to get there attention. "Get we focus please, children?" Loki blushed, Will looked embarrassed, and Zhalia just shrugged, keeping her coffee away from the blonde who was so appalled by it. "Now, it might just be a local legend, but there's a chance that the Argonauts sank the ships there so no one else could use them. So, let's find out." He gave them all a cheeky smile, and the youngest member of the team returned in tenfold, her eyes lighting up. Will and Zhalia shared a look before shrugging at the way the other two got so excited about everything.

And, in a sinister black car parked in front of the shop, a man picked up a phone to call Defoe. And in Silene, Libya, Defoe picked up.

* * *

><p>The lanky man was at a dig-site, supervising the unearthing of a unique artefact. He was decidedly unhappy about his new role as a delivery boy, pacing along one wall of the tomb, shooting death glares at any and all who came near. Behind him, a team of archeologists were pulling the stone lid of a coffin. When they finally succeeded, the senior archeologist reached in and plucked out a long sword. It was plain enough, the blade dulled from the ages, and the hilt no more that two bronze arcs with a handle. This sword was made for a purpose, and nothing more. the man holding the weapon looked up, saw Grier fiddling with his amulet, and immediately ran for Defoe.<p>

"Mr. Defoe! Its the Sword of Saint George." With a snarl, Defoe snatched the blade from his minion, and held it to the light, testing the edge with a gloved thumb. He scoffed when he found it to be blunt. It wasn't much use as it was. The archeologist spoke up again. "According to our best information, there's a titan within! The dragon, Lindorm!"

Defoe swatted the man away, still holding the sword. "It is of no consequence to me- after all, the Organization considers me unworthy to bond with such a titan. Now, get out of my sight!" Defoe fumed to himself. "I'm merely assigned to transport this titan to Prague, a delivery boy! That's all I am." He trailed off into indistinct mutterings, probably empty threats about how he'd get his revenge, when suddenly, a ringing burst out of his back pocket. With a malicious smile, he dug out his mobile, and answered the call. After telling the man on the other end not to let his enemies out of his sight, he hung up and marched to the door.

"One of my spies has spotted Dante Vale." He said in answer to Grier's questioning glance. The blond immediately marched after his superior.

"Shouldn't we complete the mission we have been given first?" The man rumbled, sea-green eyes giving nothing away. Defoe shook his head, a cunning look flashing across his rat-like face.

"I'll tell them we're having delays unearthing the Sword of Saint George."

* * *

><p>AN: This one came so easily- they just handed the one-liners to me on a silver plater!<p> 


	30. Chapter 29 The Treasure Part 2

AN: And now, time for one of my favourite parts of the whole original series!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 29- The Treasure of the Argonauts Part 2

The team waited till the next day to hire a boat and sail out to the river. Loki loved the boat, sitting at the front with Dante and asking endless questions about how it worked, how it was built, and how to drive it. Sensibly, he drew the line at letting her take the wheel. The blonde, if it had been anywhere else, would have sulked, but instead smiled and shrugged, feeling that the weather, place and company was too nice to be in a bad mood. Will couldn't agree less- truth be told, he was feeling a tad sea-sick.

After about two hours of sailing, they spotted a large cavern in the rocky cliffs that made up the river bank. Dante looked back at his teammates, raised an eyebrow, then smiled as they all nodded. Turning back to the wheel, he drove the boat inside, then put the anchor down before walking back to the others.

Sitting down, he pulled the holotome out from where he'd stored it, then turned it on. "I've input the available map data into the holotome." He told them, bringing up the map, head bent over the machine with his shaggy hair hanging over his eyes. A moment passed before a holographic image of the cavern floor floated up from the holotome.

Zhalia nodded, thinking. "That's our best bet. Anywhere else and it would have been spotted by now." She pointed to a depression in the east side of the river-bed. "Holotome, add a ship model right there." The machine obliged, and an image of a Greek boat appeared, fitting snugly in the cave.

"It's a perfect fit!" Loki crowed, leaning over the side of the ship to look at the water itself, wondering if it would be visible from the surface.

Dante smiled, finding the girl's enthusiasm infectious, then made four scuba-diving figures swim to the holographic ship. "We'll swim down and enter through this side. Even if the hull's been preserved by magic, we'll have to stay alert."

Loki glanced back, her eyes wide. "What if there's trouble?" She asked, and her mentor almost shook his head in despair, seeing the numerous questions in her eyes. "Can we invoke titans underwater?"

Cherit laughed at the teen's ignorance, though not unkindly, then flew to sit on her shoulder. "Of course, lass. Just stick to heavy titans like Freelancer or Kilthane. They'll be able to walk along the bottom!" A deep blue glow flickered in the blonde's pocket, and she grinned impishly, reaching out a hand to touch the amulet and talk with the titan inside.

_"I will be willing to help, Loki. Being underwater is an interesting experience, and one I'd enjoy repeating_." His Seeker laughed softly, telling him that his offer was appreciated.

The holotome's light went out, and the russet-haired Seeker holding it closed the lid and tucked it away again. "Cherit," He said, and the little titan focused on him, hearing the serious note in his voice. "Keep an eye out for any unwanted guests. Everyone else," A cheeky grin played across his angular features. "Suit up."

With a squeal of excitement, Loki dashed away, calling back over her shoulder: "I always wanted to go scuba-diving!" The team laughed, then followed at a more sedate pace to prepare for their mission.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, the team jumped from the boat to the water, each looking around in wonder at the exotic fish that swirled around them in a myriad of colours. Loki kept close to Dante instead of wandering off, feeling a little scared, it being her first time diving and all. The weight of her breathing tank in between her shoulder blades felt both comforting and constricting, pushing her down. The way that the goggles cut of her view to the sides didn't help either, and she felt a little claustrophobic. She'd often swam off the Irish coast, but she'd always stayed close to shore. Now, looking up, there was a world between her and the surface, an airless world where she'd die without her mask. Will floated closer to her, and took her hand, squeezing it softly. The blonde squeezed back, but kept ahold. The Casterwill didn't mind, knowing how strange it had been for him the first time he ever scuba-dived.<p>

As they swan nearer to the sunken ship, Zhalia began to notice that no fish swam around, or even in the wreckage of the Argonaut's vessel. Her fears were confirmed when Dante floated closer to the ship, and got pushed back by a bubble of energy that surrounded the boat. It was a warning, and the thing that kept the fish away. The golden-eyed man wasn't phased, though, and just tapped Will's shoulder twice. The boy looked confused for a moment, but then understanding lit up his emerald eyes, and he held his hands out towards the barrier.

"Breakspell!" He cried, the spell muffled by his breather. It worked, though, streaming in a blue river from his hands to dissolve the wards around the ship. The secondary mast at the back of the ship wobbled, then tumbled down, the spell keeping it together disappearing at the touch of Will''s Breakspell. Dante led the way to the boat slowly, watching the decayed structure with wary eyes before spotting a hole in the side that was perfect for their use.

Swimming closer, he waved everyone though before following himself, then mimed for the team to turn of their flashlights. With the light, the belly of the ship seemed a much more welcoming place. The russet-haired man at the head of the group led them onwards, working his way through the ship with a confidence his youngest friend just didn't possess. Loki had to keep a tight hold on Will's hand the whole time, as the jade-eyed boy helped her keep her balance against the currents that flowed in and out through the various holes in the ship.

After what seemed like hours, they reached the main deck, and gathered around the double doors that led to the captain's cabin. Giving his torch to Zhalia, who had remained coolly indifferent to everything the entire dive, Dante pulled at the doors. They didn't give, not even with the whole team pulling. Drifting backwards, the group tried to think of an alternate way of opening. With a smile hidden by her breather, Loki fisted her hands, then put then side by side, like when casting a power.

Dante shrugged, looking in askance at the others, and when they nodded, swam closer to the door again. He spread his hands wide, then shoved them away from his body, crying: "Touchram!"through his mask. The effect was immediate, but not the one they had hoped for.

Bubbles spewed in from every available crack and hole in the ship, churning the water inside the vessel into a maelstrom, grabbing the team in it's grip and throwing them about. The walls cracked, the ceiling splintered and fell, but the doors remained shut. Not that anyone cared about that anymore- in the cyclone, the team had been cast to the four corners of the room, and as they tried to reunite, the roof caved in, separating them completely.

Each and everyone of them was entirely alone in the dark belly of the ship, trapped.

* * *

><p>Loki, who had screwed her eyes tightly shut during the vicious battering of the underwater waves, blinked slowly, trying to contain her fear. Trapped! Curling her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palm, she squashed her panic down, forcing it back, using all the strength of will she possessed as a Seeker to keep calm. "First things first." She whispered to herself, the words distorted and warped by her breather. "Make a list of the facts." Looking about, she began to wish she hadn't. "I'm alone. There's only the light from the holes in the ship, of which there aren't a lot because the roof has caved in." Kicking her flippered feet, the azure-eyed girl examined her portion of the ceiling. "There isn't enough room to wiggle through, not without ditching the breathing tank- and I'm not losing that! My flashlight has smashed, and I have about three hours worth of oxygen." Swimming to the nearest wall, the blonde felt her way along it. "I'm near the heart of the ship." She brought up from the dregs of her mind a map of Greek vessels' interiors, before setting off to find the surface.<p>

* * *

><p>Will was thinking along the same lines, hoping the others were okay. Being alone in the dark wasn't so bad, but he would have welcomed any familiar face- even Zhalia's! He drifted closer to the roof, towards the source of the light, and smiled. There was a straight path to the surface there, and from there a way to get back into the ship to find the others. The brunette gaze his cramped corner one last glance, then swam out into the open space.<p>

* * *

><p>Zhalia was having a harder time getting out of her corner, having to shift a few long, thin planks of half-rotten wood before she could swim out the ship. She glanced back at the collapsed room with a shudder- it reminded her too much of her parents. She'd been three when they'd died, crashing though a barrier on a bridge, and plummeting into the river. The doors had jammed, and help arrived too late to save them from a watery death. Shaking her head, the blue-haired woman narrowed her eyes with determination. She wouldn't suffer the same fate! Turning her face to the sunlight that flickered down through the water, she was about to set off when she saw a figure slither out of the ship, looking down at the wreckage with a worried face. The person looked up, revealing itself to be Will, and the boy swam over.<p>

The pair met half way, each too happy to see another living person than to care that it was their most hated companion. The boy took out his breather to talk, knowing that it was important his message got across. It was fine for the words to be indistinct for spells, as they were guided by their user's intent, but English was English, and he needed to speak. "We have to find the others!" Zhalia sighed, looking at the surface with longing, then nodded. They were about to set off when a blast of magical power, green Touchram power, exploded from one of the undisturbed corners of the deck, and a person swam out. Both Huntik members held their breath, each hoping for a different person. Zhalia's wish came true, as the figure got closer, its shaggy russet hair, and gleaming golden eyes behind its goggles naming it as Dante.

He stopped when he got close enough to see them, his head swinging from side to side as he looked between the pair. Sighing, he looked back at the ship, muttering one word that asked and answered a thousand questions. "Loki." A brief argument ensued before Dante headed back to the hole in which they'd entered, leaving Will and Zhalia to wait.

* * *

><p>Back in the ship, the blonde was swimming around searching for an exit. Thankfully, she'd ended up on the right side of the room to the passage they'd entered through. Looking around anxiously, she began to retrace their steps, or rather, their strokes, winding back through the boat to the hole at which they'd started. She hadn't got very far when another explosion rocked the ancient structure, making hunks of wood splinter and fall from the roof of the room Loki was in. She dodged easily, looking at the ceiling with undisguised fear. If it collapsed on her now, she'd never get out! "Hey..." The teen thought. "What's all that?" Looking back at the tunnel through which she'd come, the Irish lass wondered whether that was one of her friends breaking free, or a fight with some underwater fiend. It would be just their luck to run into some monstrous fish of some kind, or a Kraken, or a million other dangerous things that came from the sea.<p>

Busy thinking, the girl didn't notice the tiny slither of wood that broke from the roof, spiraling slowly towards her head. Shifting quite by accident at the last moment, the girl dodged her unseen foe, and it missed her head- hitting her breathing apparatus instead, and cutting through the tube from the tank to her breather. "No!" Loki cried, feeling the air burst out behind her, leaving a trail of bubbles. Feeling for her tube, her hand brushing against two ragged ends instead of a smooth, life-saving passage between her and the oxygen she needed, Loki put all her strength into swimming for the exit, knowing deep inside that she was too far away, and that many more corridors stood between her and her goal.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Dante was searching through the ship, his flashlight sweeping back and forth across each room before he swam on. "Loki!" He hissed, the water stopping the sound from travelling too far, "Where are you?" There was no answer, and the amber-orbed Seeker sighed in his mind. It was just like Loki to be the one that got stuck, or hurt, or wandered off. The girl seemed to be a magnet for trouble- a wiry smile flickered across Dante's face as he remembered one way that Metz would describe it. <em>A penchant for raising Cain.<em> The older Seeker had used it many times when talking about his russet-haired student, as he himself had been quite the troublemaker in his teen years. He'd matured now, and learnt to deal with the troubles that followed him, but Loki was still getting used to the idea of having powers, and she had the problems that came with her unique power to boot. The smile left the golden-eyed man's face as he sighed to himself. It was amazing that she had gone this long without cracking under the pressure. Dante made yet another vow to himself, the kind he regularly made when it came to the ones he was close to, that he'd help her through it.

Musing as he swam along, Dante almost missed the little gasping sound that came from the next room. Eyes widening, he swam down the corridor, bursting in to find a semi-conscious Loki, her breathing-tube cut, and her cobalt eyes fluttering closed. "Loki!" He shouted, catching her as she drifted towards the floor, taking off his own breather and forcing her to breathe from it. No longer caring about preserving the ship, he loosed a Touchram to blast a hole in the side, then used Nimblefire to propel them both to the surface, streaming past a shocked Will and Zhalia, his lungs screaming for breath.

They broke the surface just when Dante thought his lungs couldn't take anymore. Panting, he slipped an arm around the now unconscious teen, lifting her out of the water and carrying her to shore. He lay her down gently, taking off her goggles, putting an ear to her chest to listen for a heartbeat or breathing then, hearing both, sat back and pushed up his goggles, waiting. A moment passed before Loki gasped, coughing up water, sitting up slightly so that she could turn to the side, heaving. As Dante reached forwards to hold back her long, wet hair that hung limply by her face, Cherit saw the teen and flew over from where he'd been keeping guard.

"Oh my!" He said, wringing his little hands with worry. "Poor lass!" Before he could say anymore, Will and Zhalia burst out at the shoreline, running up awkwardly in their flippers.

"What happen?" Will yelled, seeing his friend's wretched sate. His emerald eyes wide, the boy made no attempt to hide how worried he was for the blonde.

Coughing between words, with her breath catching in her throat every so often, Loki told them what had happened to her after the roof had caved in. "Got separated, tried to get back." The group waited anxiously as a bout of coughs racked her frail form, waiting for her to continue. "Room started caving in, didn't know what to do, I lost it." She sounded ashamed, a pale blush across her cheeks the only colour in her pallid face. Noticing this, Cherit flew off, soon returning with a large towel. The blonde gave a flickering smile of gratitude, wrapping the thick material around herself, shivering. The little titan kept an eye on her, not liking the blue-ish tinge to her lips.

Dante soon pieced together the full story, and guilt clenched his heart as he realized he was partially responsible for the room caving in on the azure-eyed girl. "Don't worry." He assured her. "You just felt a little out of your element, s'all."

Zhalia leaned against a rock at the back of the group, rolling her eyes at the way that, yet again, it was Loki who had gotten hurt, due to her own lack of caution or ability she didn't know. "I don't think she has an element." She muttered venomously, her coffee-coloured eyes on the blonde. "She should know her own limits, for her own safety." Will whirled around, almost falling due to his flippers.

"Speaking of limits," He spat, jade eyes burning. "Is there one on your rudeness?" Dante cut in, his own eyes grave, silently telling the warring twosome that arguments were not welcome right now.

"It's too dangerous to go back in there. The ship is unstable. We'll try something else tomorrow." Zhalia looked skeptical.

"What's the plan?"

Dante gave a cunning smile, a cheeky light shining in his amber eyes. "If we can't go down there, we'll bring the ship to us!"

* * *

><p>The team made camp soon after, with Will taking every job Loki tried to do from her hands. Whenever the girl tried to argue she was fine, she was struck by coughs that often forced her to double over, lips blue as she struggled to breathe. Dante was worried, and before lights-out that night, he listened to her chest, trying to hear if there was any water in her lungs. After careful consideration, he gave her the all clear, but warned her not to go drowning herself in the near future- her lungs probably wouldn't be so lucky next time. With a smile and a laugh, the blonde agreed, before slipping into the tent she shared with Zhalia, curling up and falling asleep in seconds. The four remaining members of the team kept an ear out all night, least she get worse, but by the time they all fell asleep, her breathing had evened back to usual, and they stopped worrying. Loki was so full of energy, she always bounced back faster than you could blink.<p>

* * *

><p>The night passed, with an unknown danger passing closer every minute, as Defoe made his way to where his spy was camped out, atop the cliffs that made the cavern where the Huntik team were sleeping. As dawn broke, and slow, sleepy movement began in the little camp, Defoe sneered down on them, like a god from on high.<p>

"Perfect. Now that I have assembled agents who are loyal to me, I'm finally going to get Dante Vale." He stood, gesturing for Grier to follow him away from the edge, back towards the seven-strong, camouflage-wearing group of elite suits he'd brought with him.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, the team were ready to begin raising the ship. The humans, dressed in swimwear should they need to go in the water, and their titans stood in a ring near the shoreline, each one thrumming with purpose and excitement. Caliban, at an order from his Seeker, pulled a dagger from his belt, flipping it in the air with unnecessery flair, before grabbing it by the blade and throwing it, end over end, to embed itself in the wall of the cave, quivering. Both steel and handle matched the Aztec's armor in colour, save for the very tip of the handle with was gold, with a hole in the pommel.<p>

Will nodded to his titan, the bird-man Icarus. "Thread the needle." The blue-skinned hybrid cast up his wings, a blue light forming between them, which then flew away, the end going through the hole in Caliban's dagger. The light faded as it went, leaving rope in its place. The light streamed through the air towards the water's edge, where Sabriel lifted her sword to the sky, and the rope wrapped around it's length.

Solwing flew from the water with the other end of the rope in his talons, flying to a more conventional boat-hook anchor stuck in a rock, and threading it manually. Loki grinned, glad that her idea was working so far.

"Okay, we're ready for the counter-weights! Freelancer, Springer, tie 'em up!" The blue and grey titan didn't give it much effort, simply taking the rope from Sabriel's sword and tying it to his own weapon, then thrusting it deep inside the boulder beside him. The purple squirriel squeaked happily, glad to use his knot-tying-and-untying skills. When the little titan finished he gave another squeak, and Caliban walked over from where he'd been standing. Freelancer waited for him, then stood behind his boulder as the Aztec stood behind Springer's, and the two pushed the counter-weights towards the water.

The ropes slowly began to grow taunt, and Loki hurried over to Caliban's dagger, watching it carefully. Dante saw her go, and turned to follow. "How are the rings holding up?" He called, walking over. The girl half-turned, then focused her attention back on the 'ring'.

"Good so far." She reported, then turned away, confident that they were settled deep enough into the rock to hold firm. Seeing that all was going well, Will and Zhalia donned their scuba-gear and dived in to check the rings under water. Checking over and finding them stable, the pair gave Metagolem, who was stood beside the ship under the water, the signal to start pushing.

A moment passed before Loki sighed and shook her head. "It's not enough." Her russet-haired mentor thought for a moment, then smiled, picking his way over to the water, carefully of the pointy stones beneath his bare feet. Taking a deep breath, he dove in, using Nimblefire to get to the bottom quicker. Waving for the two already underwater to follow him around to the back of the ship, he stood beside Metagolem, waiting for the others.

Back on the surface, a devious smile tipped the corners of Loki's eyes and mouth, and she dove in after her mentor- a thing he had expressly forbidden her to do, not wanting to endanger her health after her little dip yesterday. Both he and Will glared at her when she swam up to them, but she just smiled, waved, and did a backwards flip before pointing to the ship.

Dante sighed, telling himself he should have known that the blonde wouldn't listen, braced himself in the soil of the river bed, the others taking up similar positions. He held up a hand with three fingers raised, lowering one, then the other, then putting both on the ship's side. "Dragonfist!" He yelled, pushing against the ship with all his strength. Zhalia, Will and Loki decided to use Hyperstride instead, trying to propel the ship instead of themselves. Seeing that his Dragonfist wasn't working, the amber-eyed man used the blue jumping power too, and, slowly, the ship began to shift.

Seeing this, Dante brought forth another Dragonfist. It shifted, almost there, and the Irish lass smiled. "Once more!" She yelled, using volume to make her words clear against the warping of being underwater. Everyone called forwards one last power, and the ship began to rise, till Metagolem was able to lift it up onto his massive shoulder.

The team swam back to the surface, Loki streaking ahead of the others with a curious style of swimming, using her legs as one limbs instead of two, like a tail. The way she used her flexibility to power through the water explained why she disliked the constricting breather tanks, and had had such problems swimming with them before.

They broke out of the water just as the ship reached the surface, their heads popping out in time to see the bow of the ship appear out of the waves. It was truly a sight to see, for all it was decayed.

* * *

><p>Above them all, Defoe saw what they had accomplished, and snarled. It wasn't because he'd wanted to find the ship, not at all, he hadn't even know it existed. He was angry merely because Vale had succeeded. Grier walked over to his leader from where the men were rigging up ropes to absail down to their enemies. "Sir." He rumbled, watching the sword in the thin man's hands with apprehension. "We are violating orders, risking the titan we promised to deliver."<p>

Defoe whirled around, almost striking the blond with the blunt edge of the weapon, the minion narrowly missing the sword. "I am no errand boy, and you are not here to think, you are here to do what I say!"

Grier bowed his head. "Sir." The lift at the end of the word held an unspoken question, one that was soon answered.

"Prepare for revenge!"

* * *

><p>In the meantime, whilst waiting for the ship to drain out the water from its various holes, the team had gotten changed into some dry clothes. Once Dante had deemed the ship dry enough to venture onto, they'd cleared the mess of the collapsed deck, Loki eyeing the tunnel where she'd almost drowned with dislike, before searching the rest of the vessel for Jason's logbook or titans. Neither one could be found.<p>

Finally giving up some three or four hours later, Dante sat on the shore, looking at some long, metal poles they had found on the ship that didn't have any relevance to any working of the craft. Loki eventually wandered over, the puzzle of the poles annoying her. She knew that when she figured it out, it would seem so obvious- but for the life of her she couldn't think what they were for! Will came over a few minutes later, leaving Zhalia to carry on with whatever she was doing, carrying a book that he'd brought about Greek boats.

Dante looked up at the teens' approach, smiling, then went back to examining the sticks. "We can tell this ship is from the right time period," He said at last, breaking the completive silence that had fallen over the trio. "Because all the metal work is bronze, like these rods."

"Why bronze?" Loki mussed, wondering if it was coincidence or part of the puzzle. Dante picked up one rod, running his fingers over it as he answered.

"Its all they had. It took many more centuries to innovate ironwork and steel." The blonde looked disappointed at this, knowing it was one less thing she had to work with.

"So," She asked, just to be sure. "Everything was made out of bronze then? It was like the plastic of ancient times?" Dante just nodded, placing the pole he was holding back on the floor, and picking up the other one, checking it just as he had done the last. It yielded the same results- that is to say, none at all.

Will tapped the girl's shoulder, and she turned, azure eyes questioning. He handed her the book he was reading, pointing to a sketch in the top right-hand corner. "See. Our wreck looks just like the illustrations the Greeks left us of their vessels."

Loki nodded, tracing the curving lines that made up the ship, looking between the drawing and the real thing, imagining what their ship would have looked like in its hay-day. Dante sighed, putting his hands behind him and leaning on them.

"However," He said, his voice slow and thoughtful. "There are things about this wreck that lead me to believe that its not the Argo itself."

Loki gave a disappointed murmur. "Like what?" The ship certainly looked the part- maybe there was something Dante could see that she couldn't?

The russet-haired man made to explain, but got interrupted by an inquisitive Will. "Its way more cramped than the Argo's description in the ancient legend, isn't it?" His mentor nodded.

"Yes. Also, the cabin layout is very simple. I'd expect more from a flagship. My guess is its one of the ships in the Argonaut fleet, but not the Argo itself."

A sharp cry echoed from the roof of the cavern, stopping whatever Dante had been about to say next as the team froze with horror. They knew that voice, knew that hate-filled cry, and their suspicions were confirmed when Defoe came absailing down, calling for Kreutalk as he drew near. Grier was fast on his master's heels, summoning Breaker as he fell. The suits followed afterwards, invoking an array of Redcaps and Mindrones.

Zhalia ran over from where she was working on her own thing, settling into a fighting stance, as Defoe walked to the dry land, the water that soaked his legs evaporating in front if the team's very eyes. "You are mine, Dante Vale!" He snapped, each syllable clipped and filled with a barely restrained, animalistic rage. "Poisonfang!" The acid-green power spurted from the lanky man's hand, rippling through the air, its target Dante. Shoving Loki down and out of harm's way, the russet-haired Seeker flipped up and over the bright liquid.

"I belong to myself!" The amber-eyed man called across to his enemies, a smirk tilting the corners of his lips. "Lend me your might, Metagolem!" The purple amulet flared bright, the flickered, each flicker lasting less and less till the light went out, a little buzzing noise coming from within. The smirk on Dante's face disappeared, replaced by a look of shock and horror. "Oh no! I used all my power up on the ship!" A gentle arm landed on his shoulder, and Zhalia stepped up next to him, a cruel smile on her graceful features.

"I always keep something in reserve for emergencies!" She said with a bitter laugh, pulling out the black amulet of her knight. "Kilthane!" The blue-haired woman summoned the titan to her side in an orange flash, and he held his shield before the group, covering their retreat.

The team ran pell-mell from the Organization till their leader shouted out to them, an idea forming in the very depths of his mind. "Take cover in the ship!" It was at that moment that the Organization's titans clashed with the black knight. He valiantly fought them off, kicking a Redcap in the face as it tried to grab his ankle, swinging his sword in wide arcs to hold the others at bay.

With wide eyes, Loki took Will's hand and legged it for the ship floating by the shoreline. The Casterwill lad looked at her in shock, not knowing why she was so scared, then almost stopped as a terrible idea came to him, one that had already occurred to the blonde. Defoe was here, the man that had been sent to capture Loki in the past, and she was too weak to fight him off!

Zhalia got to the boat first, almost faltering before her jump to the deck as a stream of light flowed into her. Kilthane had been defeated by his numerous enemies, and time was running out. She reached the deck though and leaned back over to offer a hand to the azure-eyed teen below- for all she'd said that if you had to take care of yourself, or die, she knew that what awaited the girl in the Organization's clutches might just be worse then a nice, peaceful death...

Will and Dante Hyperstrided on board, and the older male gave his friends a grim smile. "Just follow my lead. I know it looks pretty bad, but I have a plan!" He began to outline his rough plan, with he and Loki smoothing it over as he went. Then, with trembling hearts and quelling their fears, they made their way into the belly of the ship, their plan already in motion...

* * *

><p>AN: Would it be mean to say I enjoyed almost drowning Loki then?<p> 


	31. Chapter 30 The Treasure Part 3

AN: Hold onto your seatbelts, this chapter's a bumpy ride ;)

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><p><span>The Seeker within<span>

Chapter 30- The Treasure of the Argonauts Part 3

Outside the decaying vessel, Defoe was fuming. His fists clenched and unclenched as he imagined wrapping them around that blonde's neck again, making Vale watch as there was nothing he could do, or better yet, just Vale's neck, and seeing the light go out in his golden eyes. "Kreutalk!" He barked, snarling. "Make a hole in the side of the ship... for Breaker."

Grier bowed his head to his leader. "Shall I send the men in, sir?" Defoe whirled around, growling

"I will not allow that coward to escape! Keep the ship surrounded at all times!" He span to face the ship again, sneering. "That's right, Dante Vale!" He jeered, his voice thick with anger. "You're completely surrounded, but this time you don't have the option to surrender!"

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><p>Wide blue eyes watched him from the ship, peering through a crack in the rotten planks. Loki sighed, turning back to the group, her azure eyes worried. "This guy may be a total nutjob, but he's got us cornered!"<p>

Dante nodded once, a sharp, busy gesture, then whipped out his holotome, opening it and switching it on in one smooth move. "Loki, Will, Zhalia." He ordered, amber orbs serious, and holding no room for arguments. "Go to the main entrance on the deck and bar the doors." He showed them on the machine in his hands where to go.

Just behind them, Defoe's eyes, sparking with fury behind his tinted lenses, caught sight of the holotome's unnatural glow. Looking over, he caught sight of the hole through which he could see the holotome... and its owner. Dante had his back to the large hole, and Defoe gave a smile that was more of a snarl than anything else. He twirled the sword in his hands, a dark, sinister plan forming in his twisted mind.

Grier looked between the trenchcoat-wearing man, his master and the sword with apprehension. "We were told very specifically not to use that!" He rumbled, worried. For all Defoe was his immediate superior, the Professor's wishes were the main priority.

Defoe glared at the blond minion, eyes blazing behind his glasses. "Shut up! I'm going to finish this, and I'm going to do it," He raised the sword. "The old-fashioned way."

Back in the ship, Will was still arguing with the plan. "But what about you?" He asked, brow furrowed. Something wasn't right here... Why would Dante stay in the belly of the ship when all their enemies were up top? Calm, golden eyes met puzzled emerald, and Dante bowed his head.

"I'll be fine. Just trust me."

Outside, Defoe could believe his luck, creeping closer with cat-like, soundless footsteps. "The angle of that opening..." He thought. "I should be able to get in close without them seeing me..."

Dante smiled at the worried faces of his students, finishing off the plan. "You should use small titans like Gareon or Icarus to preserve your strength. Now, take your positions." He smiled, a cunning little quirk of the lips, then ducked as Defoe made to spear him on his sword. Loki gave a shocked cry, backing away with wide eyes.

"What the-!" Will raced across the room, grabbing her hand as he went, and the three went to do as Dante had told them, the Casterwill now understanding what his mentor had done. As they scattered, the russet-haired man gave his enemy a cocky smile, then shot a Touchram to block the hole in the side of the ship. He bowed his head to the sword-wielding maniac, still smiling.

"Defoe."

Defoe snarled. "Your time has come, Dante Vale! Mindrone! Gar-Ghoul!" The two titans appeared beside their master in a flurry of snapping jaws, beating wings, and gleaming eyes, both launching themselves at the amber-orbed Seeker, who swiftly dodged.

"Still using my surname? How many times do I have to tell you-?" He broke off to jump over Gar-Ghoul, using the gargoyle's back as a springboard to leap away again.

Defoe snarled, sending a Poisonfang to try and scorch his enemy. "You will never be anything else to me!"

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><p>Back outside, the suits were getting restless. "Kreutalk's acid isn't fast enough." One reported to Grier. "The hull's been reinforced with an enchantment!" The blond nodded once, then pointed to the ship.<p>

"Get up to the deck and find the entrance! Move it!" The men nodded, then ran for the boat.

* * *

><p>Behind the doors that the Organization were now trying to force, Zhalia, Will and Loki were hastily shoving planks of wood, boxes, and anything else they could get their hands on to stop the door giving way to their enemies. "How long will this hold?" The blonde teen asked, breathing heavily. It seemed that almost-drowning yesterday was going to have some nasty side-effects...<p>

It was Zhalia who answered. "Not very." She said simply, turning to face the azure-eyed girl, a fierce smile on her face. "Hope you're ready for a fight." The girl nodded seriously, preparing for battle.

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><p>Back with the team's leader, the fight was in full swing, with Dante leaping about without pause dodging the attacks of both titan and Seeker. Jumping out of one Poisonfang, he was almost struck down by Gar-Ghoul, who was stopped by Solwing (the only titan Dante was strong enough to summon) at the last moment, giving his Seeker time to leap away. Both Defoe and Gar-Ghoul shot at the mahogany-haired man at the same time, and he used Hyperstride to jump up, then launch himself off the ceiling, slamming into Defoe's chest. The lanky man sprang right back up again, and the two men faced each other.<p>

Golden eyes grave, Dante went to attack, but was warded back by a swing of Defoe's sword. The Organization man laughed, a cold, harsh sound. "What good are fists against a sword?" He taunted, swinging again, and Dante was forced back towards Gar-Ghoul. As the titan made to shoot at him, the russet-haired Seeker jumped over his head then, as the titan turned to follow him, used the gargoyle's head as a springboard again to dodge another power.

Not answering Defoe's question, he instead gave a taunt of his own. "Y'know, after all your failures, I thought the Organization would have done something about you by now!" He ducked to avoid a Raypulse sent by the Mindrone. "I'm guessing they must be really short of people."

Defoe just smiled, an unusual reaction, then laughed again. "I'm too valuable for them to dispose of- see, I know a thing or two about their least favourite Seeker that they're willing to keep me around for." Dante frowned, confused.

"Like?" He goaded, backing off. Defoe smirked.

"I know it's been a long time, Dante Vale, but I'm sure I haven't changed that much. Don't you remember Liam Adese?" Dante froze, golden eyes wide an filled with memories.

"_Liam_?"

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><p><em>Falling through the locked place at the back of his mind, the place where he kept the things he would not remember, the things of a time before Metz and titans and friendship. <em>

_Him, four years old, watching his father have a heart attack, running for the phone, the ambulance getting there too late._

_His mother, her beauty worn away by sorrow and hard times, meeting someone new the next year. A large, beefy man that made her feel safe, feel protected. But he was not safe, nor any of the things that they thought he was. After they'd gotten married, his true nature was revealed, a dark and twisted thing._

_The only thing this man knew was violence, was pain and fear and beating. And Dante learnt well the lessons of this man's drunken rage, till he could take no more, and fled into the night. It took two years for him to brake, for him to run away, and he'd hated leaving his mother to suffer on alone, but he'd couldn't stand it, couldn't take the pain anymore. _

_He thought back to the first time he had met the man, thought back to the little shadow that hid behind his mother's boyfriend- a thin, pale boy with long, greasy, dark hair, and dark eyes behind his glasses. Liam Adese, the son of his abusive step-father from his first marriage, a poor, misguided boy who thought getting hit meant his father loved him._

_And who hated Dante because he got hit more. They'd both hidden bruises, lied about broken bones, missed school because of cuts- but the younger boy still bore the brunt of the man's anger, and Liam saw this as the ultimate betrayal from his father, and one he would never forgive either of them for._

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><p>Defoe, for any trace of that little boy called Liam had long since died in his cold heart, laughed. "You remember me now, don't you, Dante Vale? The boy that ran away. She never stopped looking, you know- and neither did my father. Even when I left for collage, joined the Organization, became something, they didn't care. They never," He swung at Dante, the anger in his eyes burning brighter than ever. "Stopped," Another swing, and Dante jumped back, his eyes wide. "LOOKING!" Defoe roared, trembling with hate.<p>

Dante was still in shock at Defoe's revelation, and stumbled, crying out when Defoe darted after him, his sword slicing through the flesh of the fore-arm he used to steady himself. The pain from the cut was just what the russet-haired Seeker needed to bring him back to himself, and he began to fight back against, eyes filled with sorrow and regret at what had become of the little boy he used to know.

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><p>However, the cry rang out through the ship, and the rest of the team took it as a bad thing. Loki gasped, eyes round in her pale face, and Will and Zhalia froze. "We have to help him!" The blonde yelled, spinning around to face her teammates. They nodded, but the blue-haired woman paused, thinking, her eyes flickering nervously between the door and the tunnel that would lead them to the russet-haired Seeker.<p>

"We have a job to do here..." She said uncertainly. Will rolled his eyes, thinking that it was just like her to leave Dante when he needed them.

Seeing the look on the brunette's face, Loki quickly intervened. "I'm not strong enough to hold this by myself, or take on Defoe. Maybe we should stay here, and Zhalia can go and help Dante?"

The emerald-eyed lad glared at the mocha-orbed Seeker, not trusting her to help Dante and not Defoe. "No. Zhalia is strong enough to deal with the suits if they do get through- I'm going to help Dante." He turned and ran off without another word, his face set. The azure-eyed teen watching him go knew that there was no arguing with him when he was like that, and sighed, going back to lugging boxes to the bulging doors. Zhalia's hand on her shoulder stopped her, and her cyan eyes met the anxious coffee-coloured ones of the older woman.

"You'd better go with him." The girl nodded once, then set of after the Casterwill, her blonde hair streaming out behind her as she ran.

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><p>Back with the teens' mentor, the tide wasn't turning the amber-orbed Seeker's way. He was surrounded with no where to jump to, his only titan was Solwing, and he had a medium-sized cut down his left arm. Things were not going well. He could hear Gar-Ghoul behind him, could see Defoe and the Mindrone getting closer,but he was running low on power, and he couldn't defeat them all...<p>

Suddenly, his enemies sprang into action, with Mindrone shooting at Solwing, who narrowly missed, and Gar-Ghoul got so close that Dante could feel his cold, wet breath on the back of his neck. Calling forth a Dragonfist to cover his hand in burning flames, Dante punched the titan in the stomach, and it reeled back, screeching. As it made to attack the russet-haired man again, Solwing flew at its eyes, distracting it so that the golden-eyed Seeker could send it skidding across the floor to fall into the hold with a Touchram.

Then, deliberately slowly, he turned and raised his hand again, to face Defoe. "You won't be able to defend my titan attack at his range." He warned the lanky man. "It's over, Liam."

Defoe snarled, bending over to place his sword on the floor- not letting go of the weapon, and reaching into his back pocket to pull out a vial of Kreutalk's acid. "You'll have to finish me, Dante." He snarled. "I'll never surrender to you!" He swiped his sword at Dante's out-stretched hand, preparing to fight again, when the doors behind them crashed open, a silhouette outlined in shining green running in, revealing itself to be Will.

Even as Dante opened his mouth to warn the Casterwill about the sword, the teen charged forwards, lashing out with a leg. The russet-haired Seeker frowned, thinking he had missed, but his face cleared as he saw the vial flung into the air, where it met its end, destroyed by a Raypulse from Will.

The jade-eyed boy was so focused on his task, he didn't notice the sword till it was too late, and it was at his throat. Growling softly, he tried to back away, but Defoe's Mindrone stood behind him, halting all progress. "Apparently, the tide has turned, Mr. Vale." The greasy-haired man purred, taking Will's arm and pulling him in front of himself, a human shield against any attacks Dante might make. "Now it is you who must give up!" He crowed. With a quite snarl, Dante held up his hands, showing that he had no more tricks up his sleeve. As gold eyes met green, a silent conversation took place, with each person apologized to the other for getting them into this situation.

"Unlike you, I have no weakness." Defoe went on, relishing his triumph. "I don't make friends of my collages, so, they are expendable." The amber-orbed man before him saw a flicker of movement behind the lanky man, and spotted Loki creeping through the doorway, her footsteps carefully placed and stealthy. Dante kept his eyes on Defoe, determined not to give her away.

"You don't have any friends, Liam."

Suddenly, a sound like an orchestra of leather bullwhips snapping simultaneously filled the air, and Defoe howled as something bright blue and burning hot struck him from behind. In agony, he instantly let go of Will, and Dante turned his upraised hands towards the lanky man. "Spidertouch!" The blue, sticky threads jumped from his hand to latch onto the sword in the Organization man's hand. Will ducked to avoid the webs, and Loki smiled mischievously before running from her hiding place and smashing into Defoe, who tried to take a step forwards, but instead fell over the boy crouched at his feet. As he tripped, he let go of the sword, and it went flying through the air to land in Dante's hand, the other whipping out to grab Defoe's wrist.

The man twisted as he fell, not noticing the grip on his wrist, and tried roll away. Instead of going forwards as he'd planned, the man found himself stuck on his head, legs crumpled beside him, showing the large burn mark on his behind, a sword to his upside-down face.

Loki cheered, immensely relived that everyone was okay. "It must be time to eat, because Defoe just got served!" She whooped, grinning. The grin vanished as she saw the state of her mentor's arm, and she darted forwards, eyes wide. "Are you alright?" Ripping a strip of cloth from her shirt, she quickly and competently bound the wound, her azure orbs filled with worry.

Will, seeing what she was doing, paled, not knowing that the cut had been given before he'd charged in. "Dante, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" He was cut off by a loud bang, and everyone froze at the noise. It was Dante who worked out what it was first.

"No time for that- help Zhalia!" The teens nodded, and dashed off, leaving the two men alone.

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><p>They found Zhalia where they'd left her, on the main deck, but it seemed she'd found a few new friends whilst they were gone. The loud bang had been the Organization breaking through their barricade, and now the deck was filled with camouflaged suits. The blue-haired woman had already summoned Gareon to help her, and the little titan was sat on her shoulder, snarling at his enemies in his strange, reptilian voice.<p>

Grier almost smiled when Loki came charging in, remembering the Professor's demands for the blonde before him. "I'm not here to bully Dante's puppy and a girl." Will appeared around the corner, having started off after the azure-eyed girl, and Grier scoffed. "Nor a princeling. Just make this easy for everyone and surrender now."

Emerald, azure and coffee-coloured eyes glared at him, and the large man began to regret his harsh words. Zhalia took one menacing step forwards, and Gareon snarled. "Girl? You must mean Loki. I'm a woman, a woman who's about to make you eat those words!"

With a gaze as cold as ice, Loki pointed to the suits on the left-hand side of the room. "You take the three on the left, Will." She said, her eyes narrowing. "I've got the four on the right." When the brunette nodded, she gave a smile that was a mere sinister curve of the lip, then called out her battle-cry: "I am no one's puppy! Hyperstride!" The blue power encasing her legs, she leapt across the room to slam into the chests of the first two suits, knocking them out. To any who knew her well enough, her landing showed just how tired she was- instead of her usual, graceful flip, the blonde tucked and rolled, then clambered to her feet. "This would be a lot easier if I still had enough power to summon Kipperin." She thought miserably, her eyes on her opponents.

Whilst the teens focused on the suits, Grier and Zhalia met in the middle of the deck, the blue-haired woman leaping into the air and launching a roundhouse kick to his chest, making the blond stumble back. As she landed, not wasting anytime, a swift click of the fingers summoning a stream of acidic green light from Gareon's mouth, which Grier narrowly avoided. The pair circled each other, the Organization man wondering whether he had bitten off more than he could chew.

In the midst of the fight, William dug a amulet that looked like two sets of golden wings stuck together at the base with a turquoise gem from his pocket. "Air support, Icarus!" Lightening surged forth from the amulet, striking at the heart of a storm cloud that gathered above the Casterwill's head. From that cloud flew the Grecian with wings for arms, and he shot a golden arrow from between his outstretched wings, more following as he fired at the suits, obeying the will of his master. Will himself leapt up and away, tackling the three suits that Loki had assigned to him.

Loki herself was trading blows with the third of her four suits, when the last one came and grabbed her from behind. A fierce light in her eyes, feeling trapped, the blonde kicked out, by luck getting the third suit in the jaw, sending him reeling into the mast, knocking him out, and the other let go as she twisted. Her sharp cyan eyes caught sight of a series of strange holes in the mast, and she filed it away for further use, concentrating on the fight instead.

In the middle of the deck, Grier grew tired of getting battered. When Zhalia darted in to strike, he called forth a Dragonfist to engulf his hand in flames, then punched Gareon, sending the little lizard back to his amulet. As the blue-haired woman staggered from the pain of having a titan returned, the blond grabbed her by the shoulders, lifting her off her feet and trapping her arms. Loki, still in fierce battle with her final suit, saw the mocha-orbed Seeker's predicament, but knew she was powerless to help.

In that moment of distraction, the suit she was fighting caught her arm, pulling it painfully behind her back, trapping her completely, lifting her as his leader had done so that escape was impossible. "Put me down! Let me go!" Loki squirmed desperately, her eyes meeting Will's across the room, pleading for help- but the Casterwill was still swamped by the three suits surrounding him, and he couldn't help her any more than she could help Zhalia. With a wave of a hand, the emerald-eyed lad sent Icarus to help the girl, but he was shot from the sky the minute he stopped firing at the suits. Feeling that all was lost, the blonde reached for her last resort- knowing that she was too tired to control it properly, and that the results could be disastrous- when a voice rang out behind them.

"Enough." It was Dante, and subdued Defoe a his feet and a sword in his hand. Grier let go of Zhalia, and she flipped backwards, landing in a fighting stance.

But Grier's attention was focused on his leader. "Release him!" The large man roared, but his outburst was met by cold, golden eyes.

"Abandon ship boys, or he walks the plank." Grier scowled, his turquoise eyes burning.

"I took an oath." He rumbled. "I won't leave my commanding officer." He signaled to his men, and they stepped back, letting go of Loki and Will. As soon as they were free, the teens ran over to Dante, Zhalia on their heels.

"That won't be necessary, Grier." The russet-haired man told his opponent calmly. "Promise you'll back off, and I'll give you Defoe." Zhalia was first to object, her coffee-coloured eyes watching the Organization warily, not trusting them.

"He's from the Organization- you can't trust any of them!" She hissed, her voice just soft enough for her teammates to hear.

Loki nodded, her blue eyes wide as she remembered how much she had suffered at the hands of the villainous group. "I'm with Zhalia," She whispered. "Do you really think someone like that will keep his word?" Everyone turned to look at Will, knowing that he was usually the first to speak against the Organization, but he just shrugged, still embarrassed about his screw-up earlier.

Dante thought about it, then turned back to Grier. "So, what'd ya say?" Grier tensed for a second, then relaxed, defeated.

"Agreed." Gold eyes watched him, but made no move to release their prisoner. "I won't break my word, Dante Vale."

With a sharp nod, the mahogany-haired man let go of Defoe, who quickly scuttled across the floor to cower behind Grier's legs. "Fools!" He screeched, quivering with rage. "You will pay with your lives for this weakness!" He shook a fist at his suits. "Men, attack, show no mercy!" The suits looked between their leader, the Huntik team and Grier for a moment, before the latter shook his head, and the began to walk away.

Defoe called after them, seriously losing it. "What! What are you waiting for? Grier, I said attack! You are my minion, you idiot!" He beat his fists on the floor like a child having a temper tantrum, and Dante had the strangest feeling of Deja Vu.

"I remember you now, Liam." He thought to himself, his golden eyes dark with sorrow.

Taking no notice of the fit his leader was throwing, Grier bent down, picked up the screaming man, and lifted him over his shoulder in a fire-man's lift. Defoe yelled louder, beating at Grier's back with fury. "Let me go! I will have your heads for this betrayal!" The Organization group began to retreat, with Defoe's voice drifting back as the disappeared.

"You serve me! ME! Without me you are nothing! I will destroy you all, I swear it on my life!" With one last scream of anger, he shut up, realizing there was nothing he could do.

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><p>During this display, the team had stared, the teen's looking on with open mouths as their most feared enemy broke down and acted like a child. Dante was the first one to break the stunned silence that fell upon them when the last suit had left. " Sometimes, honour can be found where you least expect it."<p>

Cherit nodded wisely, then smiled broadly. "Aye, and so can courage! Loki took on four suits by herself, and showed them a thing or two!" The blonde blushed, ducking her head to hide her flaming cheeks. Zhalia nudged her in the side, a little smile on her face.

"To be honest, I didn't think you had it in you." The girls smiled at each other, their friendship restored after the blue-haired woman's harsh comment the day before.

Will shrugged, speaking for the first time since he'd messed up. "I did. Like I said, you do best under pressure." Dante looked at the weapon in his hands for a moment, then grinned slyly before walking to stand in front of his youngest friend.

"It's only natural that such a mighty warrior should have a sword." He bowed, holding the sword out to the blonde as she looked at him with wide azure eyes.

"You mean it?" She was a little puzzled, wondering what significance the sword had- she certainly could get that through customs every time they went on a mission!

Seeing the question in her eyes, Dante straightened up, grinning. "Loki, it's time you had the offensive power to match you conviction. This is the titan Lindorm. Be warned, its difficult to control." Understanding now, the girl reached out, hesitated, then took up her sword.

Immediately, she began to glow a blinding white, edged with purple and red. Her eyes closed as she concentrated on the titan inside the weapon in her hands, and Will bit his lip.

"Loki!"

Zhalia shifted uncertainly on her feet. "She's not going to be able to Bond with it."

Cherit tsked at them, wagging a finger. "Now, now. We must give the girl a chance." A faint roar echoed around the room, coming from the sword in Loki's hand, and her eyes flew open in surprise, her irises green instead of their usual blue.

_Images swirled around her, of bloody battles, of ripping flesh and snapping bone. This titan loved battle just as much as Freelancer, but he held none of his gentleness. He was War, the eternal fight, the Death-Bringer._

_A bear, but he has no legs. Instead there is a tail, and he had horns adorning his fore-head. A ring of tribal markings surround his massive neck, spines roll down his back, and he is wearing armor on his shoulders. He roars, and it echoes around Loki's mind, forming words in a thousand different languages, before settling into English._

_"I sense in you a kindred spirit, a power like my own. I Bond with you, Burning-Brightly, so that you may wield me in battle and crush your enemies!" _

The glow around her body changed too, becoming more welcoming than violent, and the sword erupted into emerald flames. The flames shrank, concentrating around the hilt, then curved into the air, solidifying into an amulet. As the glow died down around both Seeker and amulet, the shape of Lindorm's resting place revealed itself, and Loki almost smiled. It was shaped like the bear-dragon himself, with a green stone where the head would be.

The last tremors of the titan's energy surged through Loki, and she trembled, dropping the sword and tightening her fist around the amulet in her hand. Panting slightly, she looked in shock at her friends, and Dante in particular. Why had he given her Lindorm?

Will looked at the sword on the deck his narrowed eyes. "That power felt so destructive. I don't know if I could have Bonded with that."

"But Loki managed anyway!" Cherit swooped down to sit on the girl's shoulder, and she smiled at him as she tucked Lindorm's amulet into her belt-pouch. Freelancer grumbled slightly as her fingers brushed him, complaining about Dante saying he wasn't strong enough, and she soothed him with gentle words and assurances.

Zhalia was also looking at the sword, but her gaze was filled with distrust. She knew that the blonde was a kind person- that power was so different to her, so why had she been able to Bond? "Be careful, Loki. Just because you Bonded, doesn't mean you'll be able to control him in a real battle." The azure-eyed girl nodded, her eyes fixed on something beyond the group.

Dante nodded, satisfied with what had happened, then turned to face the main entrance to the ship. "For now, let's get back to our detective work." The team agreed, save for the blonde who was still deep in thought, and they started walking away when she called out.

"Dante?" He turned. "What's the most important part of a ship for stability?" Frowning, he thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, every sailing ship relies on a main mast." Loki grinned, then dashed past him.

"Right! I think I've figured what those bronze poles are for!"

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, after the blonde had explained her plan and gathered the four rods, the group gathered around the mast, slotting the poles into the holes Loki had spotted earlier.<p>

On Dante's signal, they began to push, and the mast turned with them, revealing a secret compartment underneath. Ducking under his rod, Dante reached inside and drew out a ancient book. He opened it then, realizing the language was Greek, passed it to the azure-eyed girl who was bouncing on her heels beside him. Will peered over her shoulder as she read, not understanding a single word on the page.

"What is it?"

Mouthing the Greek words to herself, Loki finished the page before replying. "A map, I think. We were right- this ship isn't the Argo, but it is one of the Argonaut's fleet. It belonged to a man called Admetus." Dante, who recognized the name, smiled.

"Admetus was the bravest of the Argonauts, and a favourite of the god Apollo. If this book is a map to where the Argo was sunk, then its probably right."

* * *

><p>The team decided to pack their boat with some of the treasures that were hidden around the ship, with Will again refusing to let Loki help, and the blonde instead sat at the back of the boat whilst they loaded it up, translating page after page of Greek.<p>

"Apparently, the real Argo is sunk in deep water somewhere of a place called Sea-Goat." She frowned for a moment, puzzled, then laughed and shook her head. "Sorry! I translated the name literally. The Argo is sunk of the Aegean Islands!" Excitement sparkled in her eyes, and the blonde looked up as Dante walked past her.

"So, to complete our mission, we've got to go track it down, don't we?" The amber-orbed man nodded, smiling at his student's enthusiasm.

"Yes, but first we're going back to confer with Guggenheim." Loki grinned at her mentor, then ducked her head, going back to translating.

Shaking his head, smiling softly, Dante carried on down the ship, down to where Zhalia was storing their things. He called her name, and she half-turned, an eyebrow raised. "What do you make of this?" The russet-haired man tossed a large pouch to her, and she undid the lock on its front, looking between the pouch and Dante curiously.

The lock finally open, and the lid lifted up, revealing a multitude of amulets within. "These are... Defoe's amulets!" She gasped. "Separating a Seeker from an amulet isn't easy- you must have used the power Sorrowbond!"

The golden-eyed Seeker gave her a cheeky grin. "Don't go making assumptions. I could have just asked for them nicely." Blushing, the blue-haired woman looked back at the bag of pendants in her lap.

"This won't hold them for long. We need to get them to the nearest Huntik Foundation safehouse."

Growing serious, Dante nodded. "That's right. Whilst we check in with Guggenheim, I want you to take them."

Zhalia shrugged. "But all this power... It seems like a waste." Dante turned to walk away.

"Unfortunately, they've been Bonded to a very evil," Mis-guided, he thought to himself, "Man for too long to be useful to us."

He started back towards the others when Zhalia called after him. "Wait." He turned back. "Are you sure you want me to do this? After all, I am the least trustworthy member of your team."

Dante smiled at her. "Despite what Will says, I know that at the end of the day, I can trust you." He turned and walked away, not noticing the sly look Loki was shooting his way.

Wide mocha eyes watching him go, Zhalia tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear. "No one's ever said that to me before..."

The team sailed back to Velos, planning to meet back at the boat the next day, then spilt up, with Dante and the teens going one way, and Zhalia the other. Neither noticed the way that the other kept glancing back at them, reluctant to part.

* * *

><p>AN: Anyone of ya see that coming?<p>

I live to surprise.


	32. Chapter 31 The Beautiful Trap

AN: Here it is! Drowning numero dos!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 31- The Beautiful Trap Part 1

Loki sighed, loving the feel of the sea breeze through her hair. She leaned on the railing of the bigger boat the team had got for their voyage, looking across the calm open ocean dreamily. Feeling something touch her shoulder, the teen jumped, then smiled as she recognized the little creature smiling at her. "This rules! I love the ocean! Fresh air, sun, and speed. It can't get better than this." Cherit grinned, nodding.

"It is good to feel the wind in my wings." A sweet voice from the front of the boat made the blonde jump again.

"Good afternoon passengers, and welcome aboard the SS Seeker. We'd like to make a special announcement," Here the voice grew cutting and sarcastic. "Reminding you that we're _on a mission_!" It was Zhalia, her arms folded and a dark scowl on her face that was at odds with the beauty of their surroundings.

Will, from where he was lying down trying to pretend that he was anywhere else but on a boat and feeling more than a bit sea-sick, scoffed. "Well excuse me." He said, rolling his emerald eyes in exasperation. "I don't recall Guggenheim telling us that having no fun at all was part of the mission."

Zhalia glared in his direction, her blue hair whipping back and forth in the wind raised by the speed of their boat. "You don't see pros like myself and Dante goofing off , now do you?" With a satisfied smirk, thinking she had won the argument, the mocha-orbed Seeker turned back to the dashboard of the ship, then froze when she saw the lazy, cheeky smile that was working its way onto Dante's face.

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><p>Her fears were confirmed when, about half an hour later, Dante handed the wheel over to Zhalia, and went water-skiing for a while, his favourite sport, and one he was quite good at.<p>

Whilst Loki cheered and waved from the safety of the deck, Will padded over to the sulking woman at the wheel, a smirk playing across his face. "What were you saying about pros, Zhalia?" He received a glare in reply.

"I'm not talking to you." In truth, the blue-haired woman was trying very hard to ignore the fact that behind her was a very handsome man in swimming trunks.

Behind them, Dante was crooking his finger at Loki, trying to persuade her to have a go. She shook her head, smiling. "I'm more of a wake-boarding kind of gal!" A sly smile flickered across her auburn mentor's face, and he came back on board, helping Loki find a wake-board, both their faces lit up with excitement. Their heads bent over the board, setting it up, they looked more like father and daughter than ever. Both their faces were angular and clever, with a great intelligence in their eyes, and apart from their hair colours, they might well have been related, especially when they smiled- they had that same cunning quirk of the lips, that same inner light like they were laughing at an inside joke.

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><p>After the few minutes it took for her to get changed into a bikini, Loki was flipping and jumping off the waves made by the boat, laughing when Cherit flew back to her, having to flap as fast as he could go to keep up with the speeding girl. "Will's not helping with all these hard turns!" She told him, grinning. "It's better with a smooth crest. Tell him to chill out!" The white titan saluted.<p>

"Right away!"

He flew back along the line, the sound of the blonde's laughter drifting after him, feeling warm and happy. By the time he'd reached the boat, that feeling had vanished. All three members of his team was asleep, collapsed where they were with no concern for comfort or safety. Cherit immediately flew to Will, who had been driving, shaking his shoulder as hard as he could, but the boy didn't stir. The little creature was so focused on his friend, he didn't notice the large, twisting vine that was creeping up the front of the ship. It looked ordinary, just a normal brown vine dotted with peach-coloured flowers, save for the fact that it was moving by itself! It reached for Cherit as soon as it was close enough, wrapping around the titan, growing tighter and tighter till he strained against it, snapping the tip that was curled around him, and he flew out of reach. Panting with fear, his eyes wide, he flitted back to Loki, his expression telling her something was up long before his words.

"Trouble! No one's guiding the boat! Everyone's unconscious, and I cannot wake them!"

The blonde bit her lip, thinking hard as she twisted and turned on her wake-board, then grinned. "Time for some fancy boarding, Cherit! When I count to three, cut the rope holding me to the ship!" The titan hesitated, then nodded and flew to the rope. Loki crouched on her board, her intent on the ship. "One, two, three!" Cherit bit through the rope, and Loki dug her hand into the water behind her. "Nimblefire!"

The little board powered along as if it had an engine, and was soon cresting the waves at the side of the boat. The azure-eyed teen nodded once, then yelled another power, the glow around her body switching from red to blue. "Hyperstride!" She leapt, grabbed the railing she'd been leaning on but an hour or so before, then slipped underneath. The sight that awaited her was bad, even after Cherit's warning. The plant had covered most of the front of the ship, its vines reaching for the two Seekers knocked out there. The blonde dashed over, snapping all the vines she could reached, and throwing them overboard. As soon as the controls were cleared, she stopped the engine, and the boat slowed to a halt. Vines started coming aboard from all sides now, surrounding the only conscious pair on the ship. As they began to wrap around her legs and arms, Loki cried for Cherit, and the titan flew away into the hold, soon returning with Lindorm's sword, now just an ordinary weapon. He threw it to the girl, and she sliced through the plants, sagging slightly as a vapor of sweet smelling perfume floated up from one of the cut vines.

Cherit looked at the plant with narrowed eyes. "I think the smell of those flowers knocked out our team." He said after a moment, the blonde beside him catching her breath.

"Never really liked flowers." She muttered, a sarcastic quirk to her lips. "Guess it's mutual." But in the time that they had relaxed, the plant had come up with a new plan, going underwater and coming up in a dozen places at once, clinging to the boat with snarly vines in a way that seemed almost... vicious, for plants. Loki gave a cry that was half-rage, half-fear, and ran to the back of the boat, jumping up the railing, hesitating before the final jump.

"I have to get to the root of this, no pun intended! But I don't have time to get my amulets..." The blonde murmured, not knowing if she was talking to Cherit or herself, before diving in, holding Lindorm's sword in front of her to cut the waves, giving her an easy and safe entrance to the underwater world. The longsword would have to do.

Underwater was a maze of twisting vines and twining plants, the sweet smell that clogged the mind overpowering in this concentration. Eyes wide at the shear number of killer plants, Loki swum as deep as she could go, trying to find the root of the plant, and discovered it was in fact many different plants working together. She hacked her way through them, the weapon in her hands moving sluggishly though the water, blinking furiously to stay awake. Slicing through one particularly thick one, the azure-eyed girl drifted backwards, trying to see if that was all of them. She noticed only one more still intact. "Almost done!" She thought. "Gotta stay awake!"

She swung her sword as hard as she could, desperation lending her strength, then turned to face the surface, falling back down into the depths as her eyes fluttered close, the stench of the flowers finally taking its toll. Cherit, who had tried to help as best he could with his little teeth, yelled the teen's name, going after her and grabbing the shoulder strap of her bikini, tugging as hard as he could to get them both to the surface.

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><p>On the silent deck, a quiet beeping filled the air. A light flashed on Dante's watch, which he hadn't taken off during his water-skiing. The watch buzzed, and the russet-haired man groaned softly, his golden eyes blinking slowly. "What...?" He sat up, rubbing his head where he hit it on the deck, then looked around. "Where's Loki?" He yelped suddenly, noticing the missing golden locks amongst his crew. His amber eyes widened as vines began to creep over the side of the ship, wriggling under the railings, then suddenly shriveled and died, slipping back under the waves. A high, insistent voice cawed over the roaring of the ocean.<p>

"Help! Help me!" It was Cherit, and the auburn ran to the lower deck, leaning over the side to see the white titan struggling to keep both himself and the blonde afloat.

"Don't worry," He told the worried titan, "I'm here, I got her."

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><p>With the vines gone, it only took a few minutes for the team to wake up, with Dante watching over them with worried eyes till they did. Loki, after her second almost-drowning in a week, took the longest to regain consciousness, coughing up water and gasping for breath when she did. When she opened her eyes, blearily looking about herself, she found herself being watched by four set of very anxious eyes.<p>

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Zhalia laughed at that, taking it as a sign that nothing was permanently damaged, and went back to the controls, Will soon following.

Loki shook her head, sending water flying, then met Dante's eyes. He was still sat across from her, watching her. "Well?" She shot at him, pulling her hair to one side and wringing it dry, hiding her face so that he couldn't see how hard she was struggling not to cough. He raised an eyebrow, and she blushed.

"I'm sure I mentioned something about not drowning a few days ago.." He mused, a small smile playing on his lips, and Loki laughed, soon dissolving into a bout of hacking coughs that made Dante freeze. It sounded just like Metz, when he was awake... He reached forwards to place a hand on his student's shoulder, but she waved him off, still coughing. After a moment, the coughs subsided, and she sighed.

"Not that I'm not grateful or anything, but how'd you wake up?" Dante offered her his wrist, and she looked curiously at it, then back to him.

"My watch keeps track of my pulse." The russet-haired man explained, grinning. "If I pass out, it gives me a jolt to bring me back."

The azure-eyed girl sighed, smiling. "I hope you- _koff_- remember to take it off before- _koff_- bed." Will padded back to them, frowning.

"Speaking of beds, when did we all decide it was nap time? What happened?" He clenched his hands into fists, furious that, yet again, Loki had almost died. The blonde took a deep breath to steady her breathing before answering.

"There was a vine caught in the e-_koff koff_- engine. The smell from- _koff_- flowers made everyone zonk out faster than a - _koff koff koff_- trigonometry lesson."

Zhalia's dry voice drifted back, along with a cloud of black smoke, from the front of the ship. "That's not all it did." With a last smile at the dripping girl beside him, Dante walked up to the dashboard.

"We'll need to dock to make repairs. Let's check the map." Will stayed with Loki, but looked after him with interest.

"It's handy that this Foundation boat has a built in GPS that links to your holotome." He said with a relieved smile.

The auburn nodded, busy turning on the machine. After asking the holotome for the Foundation's Global Mapping network, and the nearest habitable island, they sat with bated breath and wait for the machine to finish the search.

One island came up, and Dante sighed. "Since we only have one option, I guess we're headed there." Motioning for Will and Zhalia to drive the boat, he went into the hull to find some dry clothes, telling Loki to do the same. The blonde was shivering, her skin too pale, with an icy pallor to her lips and fingers. Dante frowned, worried. Had Loki been lucky enough to escape any illnesses this time around?

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><p>AN: Grier's scenes can wait till his episode! I have so many ideas for that I can't think straight!<p> 


	33. Chapter 32 The Beautiful Trap Part 2

AN: Enjoy!

I seem to have run out of witty comments... Oh well. I'm sure they'll come back soon.

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><p><span>Chapter 32- The Beautiful Trap Part 2<span>

The boat chugged, stuttered and struggled to the island. By the time they got there, the gentle rocking of the waves, exhaustion from saving the others, almost drowning, and the last bits of the flower's smell had lulled Loki to sleep, curled up on the bench on the deck. Will, when he paused from trying to get the engine to start again after one of its many stops, watched the rise and fall of her chest with anxious eyes before excusing himself from the work for a moment and fetching his friend a blanket from the hold.

Unknown to the unconscious blonde, the others watched over her throughout the entire journey, worried that her second near-death in the water might leave some lasting trace. When they docked, the shaking of the boat as it reached shallow water shocked Loki awake, and she blinked blearily, not knowing where she was for a moment. Trying in vain to hide a massive yawn behind her hand, the azure-eyed girl stretched, then looked about. The others were trying to coax the boat to go a little closer to the shore line.

Will looked up, hearing the pad of her feet on the deck, and smiled. "We're here." The blonde's lips quirked into a little grin.

"I'd never have guessed." The brunette looked a little embarrassed for a moment, then ducked his head.

"I was about to come and wake you up, honestly."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Sure. I believe you." The teens shared a look for a moment, then burst out laughing, catching Dante and Zhalia's attention. Both adults were relieved to see the girl back to her usual self, with Zhalia, of course, keeping that little feeling under wraps.

Grabbing a length of rope and the anchor, the auburn padded over to the back of the boat, throwing the line to make a narrow, dry pathway to the island. Shooting his teammates a cheeky grin, like this was some kind of game, the russet-haired man darted along the rope, as balanced and nimble as a monkey. When Loki said as much, he shrugged, then crooked a finger for the others. With a roll of emerald eyes, the Casterwill stepped tentatively onto the line, holding his arms out for balance. Making it to the other side with only a few minor hiccups, he waved back at the other side, and Zhalia shrugged before slinking along the line as graceful as a cat. Loki looked at the blue-haired woman with envy. Now it was her turn, and everyone was watching!

Taking a deep breath, the azure-eyed teen slipped out of her shoes, wanting all her grip for this, stepped out with much more confidence then she felt. Feeling the rope sag beneath her slightly, the blonde had to remind herself that it had sagged a whole lot more for Dante in an effort to not feel fat. It didn't work. She'd almost reached the edge when a burning pain erupted in her chest, and she doubled over, coughing, only just managing to keep her balance on the rope. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the pain, trying to breathe, and she felt arms wrap around her, lifting her up and holding her close.

Outside the blonde's mind, the team was gathered around the shaking girl in Dante's arms. Zhalia took her wrist, checking her pulse, then place one delicate hand on the blonde's fore-head, ticking off boxes in a mental checklist as she went, trying to ignore the death glare Will was giving her for even touching Loki. "Fever, chest pain, her heartbeat's too fast." Her coffee-coloured eyes narrowed, and she sighed. "Probably nothing, but it does sound alot like pneumonia."

In their worry, the team hadn't noticed the shuffling of feet behind them. "Greetings, strangers. If it is help that you seek, you have landed your vessel on the right shores." Dante gave Loki to Will, making sure both she and the boy were balanced, then turned to the newcomers. They were almost the oddest bunch he'd ever seen. Dressed in attire more befitting this region in ancient times, there were no men, only women and children. The leader had long, blonde tresses and bright blue eyes that gleamed like a pair of sapphires, a colour that would seem unnatural if it wasn't for the spark of kindness that lit them up when she smiled. She glided forwards, so graceful that her feet didn't even seem to touch the ground.

Dante forced himself to smile back. "Our engine is having trouble, and we were wondering if we could dock here whilst we made repairs."

The leader smiled again, her full, red lips curving upwards in a way that would make any other man's knees buckle, but Dante had seen many beauties in his time, and the one at his back held more sway over his heart than the stranger before him. "I am Medea." She introduced herself. "Please allow us to be your hosts and guides. This island is a paradise that will provide you with everything you'll nee-" Medea broke off, one delicate hand going to her mouth, the tapering fingers just brushing her lips, her beautiful cyan eyes going wide at the sight of Loki hanging limply in Will's arms. "Oh my! Your friend!" Emerald eyes narrowing, Will took a step back as Medea took one forwards, his arms unconsciously drawing her closer to his chest. Zhalia shifted so that she was between the teens and the islanders, and Dante gave her a thankful smile.

For a moment, so fast that the blue-haired woman thought she imagined it, something akin to murderous rage flickered in the eyes of the blonde leader, twisting her perfect face, marring it with anger's scars. Then, as soon as it had appeared, Medea was herself again. "We only wish to help." She said, forlorn, eyes pleading that the Huntik team let her help them, the other islanders following suit, like sheep.

A voice from the back of the crowd cut through the silence. "Excuse me, pardon me, coming through, move aside ladies." Eventually, a tall man with dark hair and sparking, electric blue eyes muscled his way to the front of the crowd, his clothes and hair ruffled. "Medea, you might want me to handle this one. They're from my world after all." The blonde and the black-haired man shared a look filled with what could only be called utter devotation, before Medea stepped back.

With a boyish grin, the man stuck out his hand to Dante, who shook it warily. "Don't mind Medea!" The blue-eyed newcomer said with a smile. "She doesn't like to see people suffer, is all. And your friend there does look like she needs some help." Compassion filled the man's face, erasing all other emotions, before it was replaced by excitement. "It's been a while since we last had visitors on the island. Everyone gets a choice, to leave or go. I made mine when I met Medea, never looked back. But every now and then, we do get passers by. Gets the girls all excited, and myself too, I might add." Still grinning, he looked between the faces of the Huntik team, before slapping himself on the forehead. "I forgot to introduce myself! I am such a social idiot. I'm Jay." Dante smiled despite himself, caught up in the charming nature of the sole man of the island.

"My name is Dante Vale." He placed a hand on the shoulder of the boy behind him. "This young man is William Casterwill, the basket full of sunshine is Zhalia Moon, and our friend is Loki Lambert." He trailed off, good mood forgotten, and Jay gave him a reassuring grin.

"Don't you worry, Dante." He chirped, bouncing on his heels. "I was on my gap year between university and a job when I got marooned here. Training to be a doctor, with the stethoscope and the scrubs and everything. The whole she-bang." He grabbed Medea's hand, who stepped up next to him, smiling gently as he twirled her around. "And this place is full of herbs- good ones mind, not that cheap stuff that used to get sold at superstitious markets, the real deal, and Medea here knows them all!" Flicking his rough-cut fringe out of his eyes, Jay waved the group after him. "Between her herb lore, and my scientific knowledge, I'm sure we'll be able to find out what's wrong with her, and fix it too!"

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><p>After ten minutes of walking through a little village of wooden huts, they got to what Jay called the Clinic, and Medea called their place of healing, the other residents of the island watching them with wide, fanscinated eyes. One girl with long, dark curls that spiraled down her back in smoldering trendrils was particularly persistent, following them all the way from the beach, staring after them with her dark eyes.<p>

Laying Loki gently on one of the beds that lined the walls, Will stepped back to allow Jay to listen to her chest, feel her pulse and take her temperature. The black-haired man sucked the wind in between his teeth harshly, then turned to Medea. "We're gonna need garlic, wormwood, purple coneflower, catnip, meadowsweet, feverfew, confrey, mullein, and maybe a bit of liquorice to sweeten the mixture." The blonde nodded, then turned to the door, picking up a basket before she left. Biting his lip, Dante went after her, his amber eyes filled with a spark of hope for Metz.

"Need any help? Sounds like Jay gave you a long list." The woman turned, a smile tipping the corners of her mouth.

"I would be immensely grateful. The faster we get these herbs, the faster we can help your friend." Nodding, the auburn peered at her from the corner of his eyes.

"What kind of illnesses can these plants heal?" He asked at last, and by the quirk of her lips he could tell that she had been waiting for him to ask her this.

Reaching into her basket, which still had the remnants of her last outing inside, she plucked out a single stalk with a purple flower atop. "Anything you can imagine." Medea smiled, offering the plant to Dante. He took it, curiously, and when it glowed at his touch his gaze shot between the plant and Medea in astonishment. "Some of the more exotic flora can even break enchantments and cure curses."

The russet-haired man gaped at the tiny, delicate plant in his hands, dwarfed by them as he was dwarfed by mountains. "I have friend who is in desperate need of a cure. He is everything to me." He looked up at her, his golden eyes burning into hers, trying to will her to understand just how vital it was to him. "Can we pick some for him too?"

Medea placed a gentle hand on his arm, and nodded. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to Jay. Of course we can. I've been studying them all my life- I'm sure we can find something for your friend."

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><p>Meanwhile, Will and Zhalia had been hanging around the Clinic, watching Loki's shallow breathing, tensing every time her breath caught in her throat, and seriously annoying the usually easy-going Jay. "Honestly!" He said at last. "You guys standing here waiting for the herbs to come is not helping! Sickrooms need to be clean, airy, bright and happy, and you two are certainly not helping for the last one! Relax, go have a walk, explore the island- just do something to take your mind of things."<p>

With one last glance at the blonde, Zhalia nodded and left, her blue hair standing out amongst a sea of blondes and brunettes. Will glared at her back as she left, lowering his standards of her even lower. How could she just leave Loki like this? The brunette jumped as a strong hand rested on his shoulder, looking back into the kind and compassionate eyes of Jay.

"William, trust me. I'll take good care of Loki. As soon as she wakes up, I'll have one the girls come and get you, deal?" Reluctantly, the Casterwill nodded, getting up and stretching his stiff muscles before he too disappeared into the crowd that had gathered outside the Clinic.

Lost in his worried and troubled thoughts, the boy didn't notice the person walking beside him till she lay a slim hand on his arm. It was the brunette that had followed them around since they got to the island. "Pardon me, Milord, but is your name truly Casterwill?"

Despite himself, the emerald-eyed teen was intrigued. "Yes, that's right, it is. Do you know my family?" The woman smiled softly, then placed a hand on her chest.

"Almost as well as my own! Before I was marooned here, it was my family's responsibility to guard the Casterwill legacy. My name is Cristine." Tears in his eyes, Will took Cristine's hand, clinging to it like it was his last hope for survival.

"I lost my parents before the could initiate me as a noble and reveal the Casterwill secrets!"

Cristine smiled gently, then took his other hand. "I would be more than honoured to lead you through your heritage as best I can. Follow me!"

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><p>And as the pair dashed off, Zhalia watched from the shadows, coffee-coloured eyes narrowed and dark with suspicion. "The whole team is off chasing their fantasies!" She muttered, heading back to the beach, habit making her stick to the shadows and more deserted streets.<p>

"Fantasies aren't worth chasing, but secrets are." Her voice cracking with age, bones creaking with disuse, and ancient woman appeared from the shadows. The blue-haired woman almost jumped, having not seen the woman there, and only just stopped herself from shooting first, and asking questions later. Dressed in clothes whose style, if possible, seemed even older than the garb of the younger villagers, remnants of beauty still clung to her weathered features, and the blue of her eyes was faded like jeans, but there was an air about her that spoke of Medea. Zhalia assumed she was the blonde's mother or grandmother, but glared at her none the less. She didn't like being surprised...

"Where could any secrets worth finding be hidden on this island? Nowhere." She made to walk away, but a gnarled hand with fingers like tree roots shot out and grabbed her arm, halting her progress.

"Nowhere is exactly where secrets hide." The old woman croaked, shuffling closer. "I could show a weapon with the power to control minds that lies hidden at the middle of the island. My daughter, curse her soul, is too weak, to kind and caring to use it. She forbid anyone from going near! Only those who are powerful may wield it- people like you, people like I was when I was young. Come, come with me, fol-"

"Not interested." Zhalia snapped, ripping her arm out of Medea's mother's grasp. "I have a mission, and its time I got back to it." Mocha eyes daring anyone else to bother her, she strode away, making it to the beach without any further interruptions. Slinking back along the line, the Seeker settled down with a book and prepared to wait.

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><p>AN: I found this episode relitavly boring, so I decided: What the heck! Let's mix it up!<p>

I mean, this mind/illusion power must be able to see into your mind to see what you would want most, so shouldn't it be able to see what you would react best to as well?


	34. Chapter 33 The Beautiful Trap Part 3

AN: I went hiking yesterday as part of my Geography GCSE, and let me tell you, it was painful. Never again- I slept for like, 12 hours striaght and I'm still exhausted.

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 33- The Beautiful Trap Part 3

Deep within the jungle that covered the most part of the island, Cristine was showing Will the secret place where she kept all her knowledge of the Casterwill family. "As a Casterwill," She told him, directing the emerald-eyed boy to a seat next to the table in the middle of the ancient ruins she had made her own. "You have the right to read the words of your ancestors."

Will took the book she offered him, smiling widely. "Thank you so much!" He gushed, something completely unlike him- but, then again, no one but Loki had ever seen him this happy. "I have so many questions! First, I've heard about a secret family quest that only the nobles know of!" Cristine halted the jumbled flow of words, raising one tapered hand, smiling gently at the boy's enthusiasm.

"The answer is hidden away in these books." Will gasped, opening the first of the books, reading the title of the chapter within with wide eyes.

"The Casterwills and the Founding of Paris! I knew it!"

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><p>Not far away, Jay was watching Loki sleep, his blue eyes narrowed and filled with venom. "She's getting stronger... And when she wakes, what will she see? There's something strange about this one..."<p>

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><p>Zhalia jerked awake, feeling the first rays of the dawning sun on her cheeks. Opening her eyes slowly, she raised a hand to shield them from the glare, looking about her in confusion. When had she fallen asleep? Picking her book up off the deck, thanking her lucky stars it hadn't rained, she froze suddenly, coffee-coloured eyes wide as a single thought struck her. "Dawn?" Looking up, she checked the sky. Yep, definitely dawn.<p>

"Where is everyone?" The blue-haired woman hissed, searching the lower decks. Apart from what she'd moved, nothing had been touched. "They haven't been back since yesterday?" Straightening her sleep ruffled clothes, she stalked across the line to the shore, her steps revealing how tightly wound she was, each movement filled the restrained anger, worry and fear that she refused to show in her mocha orbs. The eyes were the windows to the soul, and Zhalia's gave nothing away.

"This isn't right." The Seeker muttered as she walked towards the village, conjuring up and dismissing theories as she went. The most likely theory (that didn't include her teammates facing some kind of unknown threat) she could come up with was that the team had spent the night at the Clinic, but then why hadn't they come to get her? Was she that unimportant to them? "Can't I leave them alone for five minutes?"

With a smirk, Zhalia answered her own question. In Will's case, perhaps, but when it came to Dante and Loki, never. The only different between those two was that Dante could handle himself- the blonde was still such a rookie! Rolling her eyes, the blue-haired Seeker thought back on all the missions she had shared with Dante and her team, mentally running through them all, trying to think of one time when Loki hadn't got into trouble.

Prague? Yea- no. She'd gotten hit by that Raypulse before using her first power. Rouen? Maybe... no, she'd gone over board in the river, and then fallen into that trap that Peter had set off. Certainly not in Paris. The image of that almost lifeless body still hovered at the edges of Zhalia's mind when she thought of the azure-eyed teen.

Iceland then? No- Loki had almost gotten killed by Ymir _twice_, and then there was that funny business between her and the Guardians over her name... In Vienna, perhaps? They'd all gotten into trouble then, but had the girl had any specific danger... No, Zhalia though with surprise. If anything, she'd been the safest because of her value for the Professor. Shocking herself with how happy she was that she'd found a reason not to diss the blonde, she shook her head. Almost drowning _twice _and possibly getting pneumonia completely undermined the fact that Loki hadn't gotten into trouble once.

Hearing voices drifting on the breeze that rustled the leaves above her head, Zhalia automatically stopped, hiding in the dappled shadows of the canopy. Forcing herself to relax, and listen, the coffee-eyed woman recognized Dante and Medea. She slipped through the trees, finding the two people gathering herbs in a plant-rich meadow. "Medea, I've found the jewel orchids!"

The blonde woman turned, tucking another bunch of herbs into her basket. "Oh, that's wonderful! To prepare it properly, we'll need Queen's foil!"

The amber-orbed man stood, stretching his back, a bunch of glowing, beautiful purple flowers in his hand. "Then we'll have to go get it."

Walking over, Zhalia narrowed her eyes. Jay hadn't asked Medea to get Queen's foil, or jewel orchids...

In the meantime, Medea had offered Dante her basket to place his burden inside. The wicker structure was almost overflowing with various colourful flowers, plants and a few pieces of flora that shined with an inner light. Zhalia's frown deepened. All the plants on Jay's list had been completely natural... Who were these plants for?

"But they grow on the other side of the island..." The blonde woman was telling Dante, who shook his head in a gesture the newcomer recognized as his stubborn look. He bent over to pick more of the jewel orchids, and Zhalia missed his next words.

"I don't care how far we have to go. I'll get the medicine to cure my friend no matter what." His tone held no room for arguments, and Medea smiled comfortingly.

"You are a good man, Dante Vale. Loki is lucky to have you, poor child." Both frowned for a moment, remembering the girl back at the village, before the male forced a rueful grin onto his face.

"Don't let her hear you call her that- she'll kick my butt from here to next week."

"Dante!" Zhalia had gotten close enough to be heard. The russet-haired man jumped, having not heard her approach, turning face her, frowning slightly.

"Oh, Zhalia." He didn't get the chance to say anything else before the blue-haired woman launched into her rant, her frustration and impatience bubbling up and lashing out at the person she cared for the most.

"What are you doing? Last time I checked, we had a mission, remember?" Dante shifted his feet, eyes cool and level. Too cool.

"I've decided we're staying here till Loki's well enough to travel." Zhalia saw the lie in his words, in his movements and his gaze, and was surprised by the amount of hurt and pain that swelled somewhere in her chest as she realized he didn't want her to know his real reason for staying. Had he found someone, and wanted to stay like Jay? Had he fallen in love with one of the islanders? And why did that idea make her want to cry?

Medea smiled gently, but her sapphire orbs were cold and mean. "There are only a few more herbs we require till the treatment can begin."

Coffee-coloured eyes blazing, Zhalia tried one finally time. "Dante-" He cut off more than her voice when he interrupted, walking away after Medea to find another of her precious _herbs_.

"Not now, Zhalia."

Barely holding back an inarticulate scream of rage, the blue-haired Seeker span on one heel and marched away, seething. "If Dante's so determined to stay, then there's not much I can do. Let him get tricked. It's not my problem." Even so, the golden-eyed man's dismissal of her stung, and a black mood hung about her the entire day as she went exploring the island.

* * *

><p>Down on the beach, Cherit had woken up from his long sleep, worn out as he had been keeping Loki's head above the water yesterday. Yawning, he flew from the ship, looking for his friends, and seeing a familiar spot of moving blue, the little titan swooped down next to Zhalia. "Hi ho!" He croaked cheerfully. "Where is everyone?"<p>

She jumped when he landed on her shoulder, a thing he had never done, preferring Loki or Will to perch on, then turned slightly to look at him from the corner of her eye. "Off." Zhalia didn't want to mention the blonde teen's condition- knowing how sensitive he was, he'd probably start screaming or wailing, or some other extremely loud, high-pitched sound. As he was right next to her ear, the blue-haired Seeker thought it best to keep him calm.

They walked in silence till Zhalia found a fallen tree, sitting on it, then giving Cherit a long, hard look. "A titan that talks and reasons like a person." She said quietly, her eyes narrowed. "Ridiculous." The white creature frowned, but had heard this kind of thing from others in the distant past, and knew better than to interrupt. "You know," Zhalia continued. "When I first met you I thought you were pre-etty useless. But then, I got to thinking."

Cherit knew this tone, knew it well. It was the half-curious, half-cautious tone of those who first met the little titan, not sure if they could trust something so old. "You've been around since the time before, when titans first came to Earth, so you must know all about the ancient magic and the truth behind the legends."

Closing his eyes, the little titan told Zhalia exactly what he had told Dante, and all the others who asked. "That was a long time ago."

She glared at him. "So what happened to you between now and then? What makes you so special?"

He held his little head in his even smaller hands. "I'm afraid I don't remember."

With a sigh, Zhalia turned her head away, hiding behind her hair. "I guess you think I'm pretty suspicious asking all this." Her shoulders sagged, and defeat coloured her tone.

Cherit was quick to dissuade her. "Not at all! Dante asked me all the same things when I first met him." The mention of the russet-haired Seeker hurt Zhalia, a pain deep in her chest, and she shrugged, almost dislodging the titan on her shoulder.

"Whatever. I don't suppose you have any desire to leave this island, do you?" Cherit gave her a strange look.

"What do you mean? I was out looking for the others- no one was at the ship, and I got worried. I thought we'd be out as soon as the boat was fixed."

Zhalia nodded, eyes narrowed with thought. "I thought you'd say that. After all, you haven't met the islanders yet, have you?" Cherit nodded, then held tight when Zhalia told him to get comfortable.

* * *

><p>And all the while, Will read on, Cristine over his shoulder, turning page after page, Dante picked herb after herb at Medea's instruction, and with each breath, Loki grew stronger, watched over all the while by Jay.<p>

* * *

><p>About half an hour later, Zhalia and Cherit were back on the ship, the human opening the holotome to show the titan the islanders. After a few minutes of typing, the machine still yielded no results, except for the constantly moving form of Dante, and the still ones of the teens. "Holotome," The blue-haired Seeker snapped at last. "I've given you the location of Medea, Jay and the other island girls. Why can't I see them?"<p>

The holotome's polite, accentless voice wound out the speakers. "Cannot locate movements. Experiencing magical interference."

Zhalia clenched her fists, glaring at the screen. "Dante and Will are just outside the central forest. Whatever's gotten into their heads, and the holotome's, has to be there." Blue hair drifting softly in the breeze, she leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes. "It's not really my concern, but still..." With a determined nod, the Seeker told Cherit to stay on the boat, then went to find the old woman that had talked to her earlier.

* * *

><p>Medea's mother was sitting in a grove of olive trees, a place that was at odds with the woman's obviously greedy and ruthless nature. Coming up from behind, Zhalia gave the old woman quite a scare when she placed a gentle hand on her twisted shoulder. "I've changed my mind." She explained, seeing the mistrustful glint in the faded eyes that she had often seen in her own. "Show me this weapon of yours." The woman beamed, showing crooked, yellow teeth, then took Zhalia's arm, hobbling into the heart of the jungle.<p>

* * *

><p>Medea and Dante were on the other side of the island, as far away from the village as you could get. "Just about done!" The blonde woman chirped, her smile growing. "We only require one more! The flying mushroom, which only grows high on trees!"<p>

Straightening, Dante looked at her, eyes dull and movements slow. "Alright," He said with some difficulty. "Let's go..." Without another sound, he collapsed, dropping his laden basket on the floor, out cold. Medea dropped her smile, the spark of malice that Zhalia had often seen in her eyes flooding her entire being with grim purpose.

"Finally. Constant work, and two days with no food, water or sleep." She brushed a lock of auburn hair from the man's face, almost like a mother over her sleeping child. "I'm surprised you lasted this long. But, as I said, you are a good person, Dante Vale. However, I am not..."

* * *

><p>And at that moment, Zhalia and the old woman reached a large clearing in the middle of the island- a mountain rose in the middle, and at its summit... "There is the psychic weapon!" The woman crowed, her bent and bowed figure reaching for it with gnarled fingers. "Once I held the power to control it, but time has stripped this from me, along with all else I ever had- my beauty, power, influence... even my love." She snarled, bitterness carving harsh lines in her already wrinkled face.<p>

But the blue-haired woman wasn't listening. Instead, she was gazing, transfixed, at the giant blue crystal growing from the core of the mountain. It glowed with an unearthly light, radiating magic in waves that filled the soul with longing. "You're not kidding...That's the real thing, alright. Its power is incredible!"

The old woman smiled, her puckered lips curling back into a malicious grin. "Before one can use the weapon, they must first form a connection with it." Feeling the woman's touch on her back, Zhalia turned, eyes wide.

"Alright, but how?"

Grasping her shoulder, the woman pointed with a quivering finger to the crystal. "Slowly hold out your hands before it, and relax." Closing her eyes, the blue-haired Seeker did as she was told, a rare thing, and a steak of purple light shot from the crystal to surround her, like crackling lightening.

The old woman droned on. "Now, let its power enter your mind. Surrender yourself to it! Only then will the connection be complete!"

Bowing her head, Zhalia gave a wicked smile. "You must take me for an absolute fool. If I did that," Her eyes shot open, glowing as purple as the light, narrowed. "I'd be a vegetable, forever. Armorbrand!" The blue shield sprang to encompass her, shutting out the crystal's fierce glare.

The woman stumbled away, mouth wide. "What are you doing?" She shrieked, eyes flickering from side to side. "Do you not want the power?" Smirking, Zhalia tossed her midnight hair over her shoulder, and stalked over.

"Not too bright, are you?" She clenched a fist. "I wanted to find the source of all these illusions, and I figured there had to be a connection to the mind control weapon _you _kept talking about!"

Hissing softly, like a cat, the old lady tried to back away. "You...!"

Zhalia nodded once, a sharp, brutal confirmation. "And now that I've found the source." She said quietly, darkness coating every syllable. "Augerfrost!" The icy blue light shot from the mocha-orbed Seeker's palm, lancing through the air to strike the woman down. As she lay there screaming, her body began to glow the same turquoise colour as the crystal in the mountain. With a final cry of rage and pain, Medea's mother turned to dust, the light, then nothing was left to say she'd ever existed. The ground beneath Zhalia's feet trembled, and the shining weapon rumbled ominously.

"Great." The blue-haired Seeker muttered. "Now its mad."

* * *

><p>On the other side of the island, far away from any tremors, Medea was tugging Dante's unconscious form to the water's edge. What she planned to do there, Dante would never know, because just as she was nearing her goal, a faint beeping filled the air.<p>

"What?" The blonde had time to whisper one word before golden eyes snapped open, and their owner flipped to his feet, staying out of range of the sapphire-orbed woman.

"What's going on?" The auburn demanded, looking around himself with confusion and distrust.

Medea backed away from his furious gaze, as the russet-haired Seeker began to realize he'd been tricked. The pain of having his hope snatched away from him caused an ache deep in the man's chest, so sharp and intense that he felt like curling up into a ball and crying. But he was Dante Vale, the Foundation's best Seeker, a team leader, and most importantly, a man. He couldn't just collapse when it felt like his heart was braking- he had to be strong for the others.

The auburn didn't seem to realize that for all he looked at his teammates and promised he'd be there for them when they broke down, or it got too much, or they just plain needed him, that they would do the same for him.

Medea smiled, but there was a tremble in her voice when she answered, one that spoke of deceit and lies. "I was getting worried about you, stopping to rest now of all times..." She trailed off, seeing that her words were having no effect on the amber-orbed human before her. Making a last ditch attempt to regain her control over him, the blonde blurted. "We need to get medicine for your friends!"

Dante sighed, shaking his head, shaggy hair hanging in front of his eyes. "Except there is no cure, is there?" With a wave of his hand, a Raypulse shot through the air to crash into the basket of herbs, setting it alight, destroying the contents, and all of the auburn's hope along with it. Medea dropped the basket, taking a quick step away from it.

She gave an angry gasp, then blinked slowly. When her eyes opened, the unnatural colour of her eyes had filled them completely, giving her beauty- that had always seemed unearthly- a demonic tinge. Floating in the air, cackling like a mad witch from a fairy tale, the bottom of her dressed flapped in a non-existent wind, then stiffened, forming a new lower half for Medea, revealing her true self for the first time.

Her skin coloured a deep blue, the sapphire of her eyes glowing from within, the beautiful titan looked the same as when the team had first met her, save for the fact that she was now half turtle.

"Care to dance?" She hissed, her once melodic voice now harsh and guttural.

Dante slid into a fighting stance, shocked but unwilling to show it. "No gentleman would refuse to dance with a lady." The titan flew through the air, trying to hit him, but the russet-haired man leapt up, flipped, and landed on her back. "But then again, you aren't a lady, are you? Touchram!" The green power slammed into Medea's shell, cracking it slightly. Dante frowned, trying to keep his balance as the blonde tried to shake him off. "I'm too weak." He jumped from her back, judging his remaining power from the strike he had just made, then pulled a star-like amulet from his trenchcoat. "Solwing! Cover me!"

The helmet-wearing bird burst from his amulet in a flash of blue light, heading straight for the oncoming Medea with no fear in his heart...if titans have hearts, that is. Grabbing her wrists, rendering her unable to fight back, he span her around in a merry dance, cawing in a way that sounded just like laughter.

Waiting for his chance, Dante leapt forwards with a cry on his lips just as they turned so Medea's back was to him. "Dragonfist!" He put all his strength into the blow, cracking not only the shell of the titan's turtle-like lower half, but sending Medea back to her amulet. She flickered once, screaming her rage, then burst into light. The fact that the light didn't stream anywhere probably meant that her amulet was a long distance away, but Dante kept Solwing with him, tense and alert. Where were the others? He knew that Will could take care of himself, and Zhalia too (though the sudden thumping of his heart declared otherwise), but Loki had been unconscious and ill, left in the care of one of these... these what? Were they all titans, like Medea, or were they remnants of a Seeker's power? Jay...Jason... It all seemed so simple now!

With an irritated sigh, both at his own stupidity and the situation they were stuck in, Dante headed into the forest, trying to find either the village or a teammate- and not an enemy!

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, deep within the jungle, in a scattering of ancient ruins, Will was getting frustrated, flicking through one book, then dumping it and picking another, then going back to the first one. He paused for a second, eyes burning, drumming his fingers on the table in a furious beat. "Is something wrong?" Cristine asked, her dark eyes filled with concern.<p>

The brunette jumped, then smiled at her, but it was strained. "Its just...these books are so vague about my family quest, and they contradict each other!"

The dark-haired girl looked shocked. "Surely your mistaken." She gave a helpless shrug. "Maybe its because you read them so fast."

"That's it! I read them too fast! And the faster I read them," Emerald eyes widening, Will stood up quickly, his chair falling over as he picked up the first book again, flicking the pages as fast as he could go. "The more mistakes they had! I knew it! An illusion!" Grabbing the tome, he span on one heel, hurling it across the room to hit Cristine on the shoulder.

Kneeling on one knee, he cast his hands out before him. "BREAKSPELL!" He cried, bitterness turning the words sour in his mouth, leaving a bad taste behind. The dark-haired illusion before him screamed, her eyes glowing blue, outlined in shining sapphire, before dissolving into flickers of light that danced on the breeze.

* * *

><p>And as the ground shook beneath Zhalia's feet, azure eyes snapped open, their owner finally shrugging off the oppressive power that had been battering her mind since she had gotten to the island. It seemed...distracted somehow. Holding her head with one hand, she cast the other out to push herself into a sitting position. A gentle hand reached out to steady her, and Loki jumped. There was a man with shaggy black hair and electric blue eyes sitting next to the bed she was in, worry in his eyes.<p>

"Steady." He murmured, his voice calm and relaxing. "You've been very ill, Loki."

"How do you know my name?" The blonde snapped, scooting away from the man. "Where am I?"

He leant back, giving her room before replying. "I'm Jay. You collapsed when you and your friends reached our island. They brought you here. I'm a medical student, and I knew how to heal you. You're safe here, Loki." Ignoring his soothing voice and the pain in her head, Loki jumped off the bed, remembering why she'd fainted.

"I'm not ill." She muttered, glaring at Jay. "I know what you are, and I won't be victim to your game!"

The black-haired man sighed, then stood, towering over the teen, all gentleness that he once possessed vanishing with that one move. "I guessed this might happen. Why, Loki? Why couldn't you just be a good little girl, like all the others? You could of had your heart's desire- your father, happiness, anything. You could have belonged here."

"I would never belong here!" The girl screamed at him, tears flowing down her face. "As soon as I fell asleep, I'd be sleeping with the fishes, just like all the other travellers who have come here! You made the plants attack us, made us come here, just for your entertainment!"

Jay gave a wicked grin. "So, you _did _figure it out. What gave me away?"

Loki took a step back as he took one forwards, and felt her back hit the wall. "Get away from me!"

The blue-eyed man tsked, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "You won't tell me? How sad. Ah well, you can take that secret to your grave, little one." He raised a hand, glowing with the same turquoise power as the crystal, and the blonde tried to conjure up some magic to defend herself with, cursing when she felt how weak she was.

"Now, how to do it?" Jay mused, the power around his hand flickering thoughtfully. "Ice or fire? Augerfrost or Raypulse? If I wanted to be cruel, I could even use Boltflare to finish you off. Choices, choices."

A shadow blocked the light coming from the doorway, and Jay half-turned to see. Before he'd even faced the door, a foot smashed into his cheek, sending him flying. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

It was Will.

Panting slightly, his emerald eyes blazing with anger, the brunette stood in front of Loki with his fists raised. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Jay picked himself up off the floor, wiping the blood off his face, looking at it curiously.

"I'd forgotten what pain felt like." The dark-haired man murmured quietly. "Thank you, William. Now, I know why I need to win this fight. Augerfrost!" The icy beam shot through the air, the Casterwill barely managing to make an Honourguard in time to stop it.

"Raypulse!" He summoned the fiery power in return, surprised when Loki stood beside him, adding her voice to his shout. The twin blasts entwined as they streaked across the room, burning brightly, casting dark shadows as they flew towards their target.

Jay formed an Armorbrand in the air, but the Raypulses smashed straight through, crashing into the blue-eyed man, sending him flying into the wall of the Clinic. He slid to the bottom like a raindrop, unmoving save for the rise and fall of his chest. Gasping, both relieved and horrified at what they had done, the teens hugged each other fiercely.

"Sorry I'm late." Loki gave a choked laugh, wiping away a tear.

"Will." Was all she said, but the boy rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what she meant.

Another rumble shook the earth, louder and longer this time, and Loki gasped. Letting go of Will, she shot out of the door, calling behind her for the brunette to follow her. Now that she was awake, the blonde knew why the power was leaving alone, and she sprinted towards where she'd felt it coming from, praying she wasn't too late.

* * *

><p>In the mean time, the crystal at the center of the island had been growing brighter and brighter in response to its owner's anger. When Jay was defeated, it pulsed dimly, then flared brighter than ever, a strange, ancient symbol hovering in the air beside it. Zhalia bit her lip, frightened of this immense power, then shook her head, eyes filled with determination. "Its the source! I have to destroy it or Dante and the others will be-" She broke off as a lance of amethyst magic shot through the air towards her. "Armorbrand!" The shield rose around her at the last moment, and Zhalia raised her own hands in reply. "Raypulse!"<p>

As the twisting beam of light struck the crystal, a child's voice rang through the air. "No! Stop! Please!" A five-year old girl with long, dark-blue hair tied up in a ragged pony-tail and wide, coffee-coloured eyes was stood just within the shining pillar of magic. Her T-shirt was torn and ragged, the jeans dotted with holes, her jacket dirty and too thin to do much difference against the cold, her trainers worn. Her skin, under the dirt and filth, was a light caramel colour, like honey and cream, her lips a dark, holly-berry red. In the child, there was the potential to be beautiful, but fear and pain made her seem smaller than she was.

Zhalia staggered backwards, mouth and eyes wide, recognizing the clothes, the hair, the cry. How could she ever forget herself?

_"No! Stop! Please!" She cried, holding out a hand, begging the man coming towards her to leave her be, to go away. He just smiled, and snapped his fingers, just like he did everyday, and hands grabbed her arms from behind, holding her still as she tried to struggle, tried to run from the man with the needle that would bring so much pain and suffering. The latest batch of experiments ready for their test subject._

_Running, escape. The feeling of freedom, at first so heady, soon disappearing as she realized she had no where to go. Her only family was dead, her guardian not caring, leaving her for weeks at a time, his friends toying and playing with her till he returned. A vicious cycle of beatings, bruises, needles and fear. She ran, slipped away in the night, listening to their drunken snores. That was a week ago- now she was cold and hungry, tired and weak. Zhalia lashed out at the wall with her foot, cursing when it hurt. "Someone help me!" She yelled at the sky, wishing there was a God to hear her cries. "Why won't anyone help me!" The girl fell to her knees, sobbing. A few hours later, banging on a door, praying someone would answer. "I don't have anything to eat! Please..."_

Back in the present, Zhalia shook her head, lowing her hand. "That's right. I was left to die. Why should I help anyo- No! Its a trick! The stupid thing is trying to stop me from attacking!" She raised her hand again, furious that it was trying to use herself against her. "Touchram!" The bolt of blazing green soared through the air, hitting the child in the crystal.

"What do you think you're doing?" The girl in the crystal jeered, sounding spoilt and petulant in a way that Zhalia had never done at that age.

Smiling, the blue-haired woman aimed both hands directly at the young Zhalia. "Going through you. Augerfrost!"

The girl cried out as the icy power hit the crystal, and Zhalia almost wavered. Each Zhalia glaring fiercely at the other, the younger turned away, staring into the crystal's depths. "Kilthane! Gareon! Strix!" The titans emerged from the block of shining stone, their colours muted, wrong somehow, their shapes distorted like a half-remembered dream.

"What's that supposed to do?" The mocha-orbed woman demanded, pointing a delicate finger at the titans.

Crystal-Zhalia smiled, baring her teeth. "You wouldn't attack your own Bonded titans, would you? After all, they're the only ones who haven't betrayed you!" Waves of blue energy pulse from the crystal's base, bringing a multitude of voices in their wake.

"Alone! Betrayed! Your all alone! They have betrayed you! So alone!" Zhalia sank to her knees, hands over her ears, but the voice didn't stop. The Crystal-titans marched closer, and their blue-haired target threw out a hand as if to stop them, but she couldn't bring herself to hurt them.

"Get back!" She yelled, wondering how she could fight them. Could she even summon them now that the crystal had?

"No one will help you!" The voices were still screaming in Zhalia's ears, weeping and sobbing. "They will leave you! All alone, so alone, alone, ALONE, ALONE!" As her defenses broke, the crystal engulfed her in turquoise power, and the coffee-eyed Seeker cried out her last thing resort.

"Clear my path, King Basilisk!" The amulet about her neck glowed purple, dispelling the light of the crystal, and the serpentine titan was there, curled in front of his Seeker, long, forked tongue flickering out between his teeth. With one swing of his tail, he forced the trio of enemy titans back, the very tip of its spiny length crashing into the crystal, shaking the clearing.

Zhalia sighed with relief. "It did it." For the younger her had disappeared from the crystal's depths. Suddenly, a voice rang out behind her.

"Go, Caliban!" The Aztec warrior appeared in front of Zhalia in an instant, catching Kilthane's sword on his own before kicking the black knight in his stomach, sending him crashing down.

"Dante!" The blue-haired woman cried, surprised, darting across to where the russet-haired Seeker was standing. He was holding a few pieces of fruit, a cheek grin on his face as he chewed a segment of orange.

"Sorry it took me so long. Had to stop for some groceries."

The pair shared a smile, neither noticing the armored titan getting back on his feet behind them. The first they knew of it was when Kilthane grabbed Zhalia's shoulder, pulling her backwards. A sword arched through the air...and buried itself in the knight's shoulder, destroying him and sending him back to the crystal.

Zhalia gave the crystal a worried glance, backing away to stand by Dante again. "Why is this happening?" The Huntik trio stayed alert, watching with horror as both Strix and Gareon drew closer. Caliban was still invoked, but all three of them knew that he could only deal with one titan at a time.

A rustle came from behind them, and they half turned to see two figures rush out of the forest. It was the teens, amulets in hand as they raced towards their friends. Loki was first, a good distance in front of the brunette behind her, calling forth Freelancer to shield her friends, whilst Will soon followed, bringing out Sabriel to destroy their enemies.

The titans soon dealt with the crystal-copies, with Freelancer spearing Gareon with his lance, a sight Zhalia had to look away from, and Sabriel cutting the lone Strix that the crystal had summoned in half with her sword. As the teens reached their friends, Loki and Zhalia shared a look, and the blonde slipped her hand into the older woman's.

The five-year-old appeared at the base of the rock again, shaking her fist. "I'm not done yet!" She yelled, glaring furiously. The Huntik team looked in shock between the Zhalia's, eyes wide, as the older stepped forward to face herself.

"Oh yes you are. King Basilisk!" The lizard-like titan had snuck round during the fight, and was now perched atop the crystal, his purple eyes gleaming. At his Seeker's words, he smashed the glowing rock to pieces, the young Zhalia's cry echoing long after the crystal had fallen.

* * *

><p>The group heaved a sigh of relief, and Dante grinned at the teens beside him. "Good job, team. Its over."<p>

Will eyed the mountain with dislike, munching on a banana. "That was some magical trap. It must have been left to guard an important treasu-"

Loki interrupted him, hands on hips and eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute! How did you have time to go and get food?" She turned to face Will, and the brunette almost shrank under her fierce gaze. "I know you were lagging behind, but for a piece of fruit...!"

Will held out his empty hand in a calm-down gesture. "It was kinda on the way, Loki. What's wrong with that?"

"You two are unbelievable! Zhalia was fighting for her life, and all you could think about was food!" Looking about, the blonde couldn't see the blue-haired woman, and frowned before spotting her, asleep, under a tree. Now that the fighting was over, the adrenaline that had kept the azure-eyed teen going was fading, and she sat down under a tree, drained. "Oh, never mind. I'm so hungry I can't think straight." Will held out an orange segment, his face contrite, and Loki smiled, reaching for it. Just before she touched it, Will whipped the food away, eating it himself.

"WILL!" Loki raged. The brunette's emerald eyes widened, as he realized he might have gone a bit too far, so he did the only thing left for him to do. He ran. "Get back here!" Laughing, the teens chased each other around the clearing till they finally collapsed, exhausted.

* * *

><p>After Zhalia had woken up, and Loki had found her own food, the team made their way up to the top of the mountain to see what the crystal had been guarding. Within the now hollow top, a stone box covered in Grecian carvings was hidden. Working together to lift it out, the group gathered round as Dante pushed the top free.<p>

The box was much larger than it need to be- all that lay inside was a small stone tablet, and Medea's amulet. "Just like you thought, Dante!" Loki cheered, scooping out the amulet and passing it to the russet-haired Seeker. He pulled out his holotome, scanning the amulet with a rueful grin.

"No surprises there." He muttered when the machine revealed the titan's special ability- projecting illusions, and spellbinding charm. Shaking her head, the blonde wandered over, ignoring the tablet.

"I guess it used to belong to Jas- Jay!" The teen froze, eyes wide. "He wasn't an illusion- he was a real person! He's still in the village!" Dante looked up, frowning.

"Are you sure?"

Loki nodded. "I'll explain later, but for now we gotta go stop him stealing the boat!"

With a sigh, Dante and Will separated from the group to go and find the dark-haired man. They came back an hour later, faces pale. Will looked like he was going to be sick, and when Loki asked him what was wrong, he promptly ran away, throwing up behind a bush.

Zhalia frowned, looking up from where she was reading the tablet. "What happened?" The amber-orbed Seeker sat next to her, seriously shaken.

"He was dead- no, not just dead. He'd been dead a long time. Medea's illusions and his own magic had kept him going, but when we destroyed the crystal..." He trailed off till the blue-haired woman nudged him in the side. "He... popped."

"Popped?"

"Exploded due to the amount of energy he'd gathered to keep himself alive. It consumed him, in the end." Loki paled too, eyes wide, before going to comfort Will. Zhalia put a gentle hand on Dante's shoulder, and he shot her a weak but thankful smile.

"So, Medea isn't Bonded to anyone anymore." The mocha-orbed Seeker said, thinking. "Illusion magic that powerful could come in useful. Who should Bond with her?"

"No one!" Dante snapped at once, voice harsh. Seeing Zhalia's surprise at his tone, he sighed. "Sorry, but whatever the cause, Medea is somewhat erratic and risky to Bond with. For now, we'll send her back to the Foundation for analysis." Zhalia looked at the turtle-shaped amulet curiously, thinking back to when they'd first met Jay (no wait, he was really Jason, wasn't he?) and Medea, and the look of love that had passed between them. Was it possible for a titan to love a human like humans loved each other?

To cheer Dante up, and to get rid of those confusing thoughts, Zhalia shoved the tablet she'd been reading onto the russet-haired man's lap. "Now this is something we can use..."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, whilst Dante and Zhalia were fixing the boat, the teens sat watching the sunset on the beach. "We'll need to study the tablet carefully, but Thoughtspectre is probably illusion magic." Loki nodded, drawing her knees under her chin.<p>

"It must be pretty powerful to be protected by such a huge magic trap. That obelisk had illusions covering the whole island."

Will shrugged. "Well, it did succeed in keeping it safe since ancient Greece."

Loki beamed, her azure eyes lighting up. "Yeah, but we beat it! And what's cool is that you all beat your illusions on your own!"

Smiling, the Casterwill stood by, stretching his sore muscles before offering Loki his hand. Together they began to walk back to the ship. "I guess your illusion was about your father."

The blonde sighed, then shook her head. "I didn't have an illusion. I only woke up about three or four minutes before you came to help me." Will rested a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled softly. "Hey, Will, what was your illusion about?"

He looked away. "My family. I lost my parents when I was too young to remember."

The azure-eyed teen tilted her head to one side, confused. "Then what about that butler guy, LeBlanche, and Santiago?"

Will's lips quirked into a sarcastic grin. "LeBlanche and Santiago raised me, but they aren't nobles. They don't know anything about the Casterwill family secrets."

The Irish lass stopped, grinning widely. "Wow! So, your family has, like, a secret mission?"

The brunette nodded, the smile on his lips shrinking. "Yes, but I don't know if I'll ever find out what it is..." He fell silent, thinking about his family, and jumped when the soft _tssssk_ of a can opening broke his completive silence.

"Hey, where'd you get that juice?" Will demanded, watching Loki as she smiled coyly.

"The boat. Its the last one!" The emerald-eyed boy gaped at her for a second before asking for some. Loki's smile widened as she took a sip.

"Not until you learn the value of sharing!" Laughing, the blonde took off, with Will following close behind. Dante watched them from where he was leaning support planks against the boat's side as they dashed about.

"Come on, just a sip!"

"No! Besides, Zhalia told me you've been flirting with some island girl!"

"WHAT! _**Zhalia**_!" A soft laugh drifted from the ship as the blue-haired woman saw her plan fall into place.

Watching his team and family play, the russet-haired man dipped a hand into his pocket, pulling out the purple flower-tipped stalk that Medea had given him earlier. As he gazed at it, the plant crumbled into fine, purple dust that floated away on the breeze.

"It's not over, Metz."

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><p>AN: I have no idea when or how I wrote certain parts of this chapter. I am never going hiking again.<p> 


	35. Chapter 34 Like Father Unlike Son

AN: This is it, peeps! The chapter before I get to start mocking Grier's fashion choices! YAY

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 34- Like Father, Unlike Son Part 1

The team decided to wait till the next day to set off for the Argo, spending the evening and early morning relaxing and training. The rising sun found the team spread out along the beach, each absorbed in their tasks. Dante was practicing his martial arts, going through training dances on a rock over looking the sea. Zhalia was sat cross-legged under a tree, studying the tablet that they had found the day before. The youngest member of the team, with the eldest draped around her neck in his usual fox-scarf way, was sat on the end of the pier, her eyes fixed on the amulet cupped in her hand. "Lindorm." Loki said softly, not really knowing if she was talking to Cherit, herself, or the titan. "Lindorm the Dragon."

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><p><em>A flash of colour erupted in her mind, the dragon bursting through her carefully made defenses, seeking the destructive power that she held within herself, the one he held felt when they had Bonded. "You will do, Burning-Brightly." The bear-like creature snarled, green eyes glinting in the darkness. "You will do nicely." He showed her what they could do together, the destruction and havoc they could wield side by side, the deaths they could cause, the world they could conquer, the blood they could spill-<em>

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><p>Loki jerked herself away from the titan's mind, barely holding back a scream. She did scream, however, when a bucket of ice cold water was dumped on her head, trickling down her back, sending shivers up her spine. "Hey!" The blonde cried, spinning around the face the grinning boy behind her. "What was that for?"<p>

Will just shrugged, his emerald eyes glinting with a mischief that was more at home in the Irish lass's azure orbs. "I've been trying to get your attention for 10 minutes now. And," He took a quick step back out of reach. "I was bored."

"Will!" Loki complained, shaking her head and sending water droplets flying everywhere. "Did tapping my shoulder not cross your mind?" With a hoarse laugh, Cherit flew from where he was perching, with wings dripping wet, coming back with two towels. After handing one to the blonde, he started rubbing himself dry, struggling with the space between his wings till Will reached out to help the little titan. The azure-eyed girl carefully toweled her hair to a semblance of dryness, sighing and picking at the soggy mess that used to be her clothes. "I'm going to get changed." The brunette behind her smiled, his jade eyes glinting in a way that reminded the blonde too much of the vision Lindorm had just shown her.

Feeling his name on her thoughts, the bear-dragon shimmered inside his amulet, sending green flecks darting from his pendant. Will looked down his surprise, then smiled even wider than before. "Taking Lindorm for a spin?"

The Irish lass grimaced, glancing at the amulet digging into her palm with a barely repressed shudder. "Yeah right."

Will frowned, sensing something other than laziness holding his friend back. "Why not?" He demanded, hands on hips and stubborn look on his face. "You've never invoked him, not even for practice!"

Loki bit her lip, turning Lindorm's amulet over and over in her hands, wondering how much she should or could tell the boy beside her. "This is gonna sound really lame," She began, hesitating before the words started to tumble from her lips like a waterfall of suppressed emotions. "But he kinda intimidates me. If I can't control him, he might- no, he _will _really hurt someone."

Will's eyes softened, and he patted his friend on the shoulder awkwardly. "Well, lets check him out." He jumped on board the ship that floated beside the pier, picking up the holotome and searching for the dragon with in Loki's amulet. The search soon found Lindorm, and the statistics for the titan were reeled off. Dante, who had walked over during their discussion and caught the end of the holotome's information- the titan's special abilities, Rolling Charge and Wild Spirit.

"And that means his strength in combat makes him worth the trouble." The Casterwill smiled slyly, putting the machine in his hands back where it belonged and sauntering over. The blonde didn't like the look on his face.

"Dante," The brunette almost purred, his emerald eyes glinting. "Don't you think Loki should give him a test run?"

When the russet-haired man nodded, the Irish girl felt her heart sink. "Your focus has improved. Maybe its the sea air?" Damm that boy- he'd gotten her mentor to unknowingly gang up on her! But then, the half-curious, half-worried look in her friend's amber eyes told her that he was going to make her do it at some point. Her fear of the bear-dragon was becoming noticed, and her friends would pressure her till she told them the truth behind her reluctance to summon him before long. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

"Alright." Loki sighed, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I'll do it!" Lifting the amulet above her head, green electricity crackling from it in bright and dangerous sparks, the blonde closed her eyes, reaching for all the strength she possessed, thinking she might need it before long. "Lindorm!" She yelled, opening her now green, glowing eyes. "Answer me!"

With a mighty and fearsome roar, the titan appeared in the sea before them. He was twice, no, three times as tall as any man, his lower half a furry tail, his huge arms tipped with massive paws and razor-sharp claws. The scarf of tribal patterns around his throat fluttering in the sea breeze, the titan lowered his head, revealing his long tusks and thorn-like horns, his curved back covered in spines. Ears pricked to hear the slightest sound, he twisted in the water to face his Seeker, showing the gleaming armor that covered his giant shoulders.

"_At last we meet, Burning-Brightly. Where are our enemies? Where is the battle, the blood, the pain and fear? Why have you summoned me?_"

Will took a step back, away from the titan, and Lindorm turned to face him, his emerald eyes burning with a hellish fire. The Casterwill whistled softly, impressed. "He looks so mean, and powerful."

A moment passed, in which the Seeker and titan gazed deep into each other's souls and eyes, learning more about their new companion. Lindorm was ancient, the markings that adorned his neck now long forgotten by human kind, and he had seen so many battles, been wielded by so many cruel and wicked Seekers that his mind had almost lost all semblance of mercy and, if you could call it so, humanity. With a slight nod, Loki promised herself that she would curb his vicious nature, make him a better titan, someone she could trust.

Lindorm rumbled deep in his throat, finding her will to be stronger than he had first thought, and her power to be twice as great as he had imagined. He knew that, given the chance, they could make the world tremble in fear, but there was an innocence inside the mortal child that made him want to use his power to do things other than killing. He shook off those thoughts, confused. He had been ruthless for so long now, he'd forgotten the feeling of gentleness.

Cherit's hoarse croak broke through the pair's musings, and the blonde jumped when he landed on her shoulder. "Well then, lass, let's see some action!"

"Okay..." The azure-eyed teen looked about for a moment, searching for something none violent that the titan could do. "Lindorm!" The girl called at last, seeing the perfect thing. "Throw that rock," She pointed to a large, rugged thing jutting out of the water just in front of them. "Into the water!"

The titan laughed softly over their Bond, and his eyes gleamed in the sunlight as he reached one huge paw to pull the rock from the sea. He threw it, up and up and up, then smashed it to pieces with his whip-like tail. The majority of shards flew into the sea, peppering the waves with holes that were instantly refilled. A few large chunks were flung towards the group on the pier, and the humans ducked and dived to avoid them.

Will turned to face the blonde teen on the dock, his emerald eyes wide. "That was deliberate! He tried to harm his Seeker!"

Loki glanced at him, her eyes as hard as sapphires. "I know that!" The two men with the girl realized, with some degree of shock, that she was glowing with a soft blue light that seemed to bubble up under her skin, making her hard to look at. Dante's eyes narrowed, and he looked between the teen and her titan with worry. What was going on that made Loki's powers flare up?

In truth, a desperate battle of wills was being fought over the pair's Bond, as each tried to gain dominance over the other. Lindorm sought to use the immense power that he could sense within his Seeker, wanted to influence her to kill and maim and hurt. The blonde tried to force with oppressive strength away from her, trying to find some semblance of control over the bear-dragon. Gathering his will, Lindorm charged at her mental barriers, striking against them. The teen felt a hairline crack along them, felt her strength fade, and pushed him back.

And in the real world, when the girl winced and the titan rocked first forwards, then back in the water, the team noticed the first signs that she was fighting to control him. Zhalia, hearing the commotion, stood up on her rock, eyes slitted at the team on the shoreline. She sighed, reached out her hands towards them, glowing with a pale orange light, and cried: "Thoughtspectre!" Picturing the titan in the water.

A stream of energy flowed from her palms, and from the light a second Lindorm appeared. His shape and colour were twisted, darker and more menacing, and when the massive creature suddenly materialised next to the original Lindorm, Loki jumped, shocked, and lost what little power she had over the titan.

Luckily for her, and the entire team, Lindorm was very territorial, and was quick to defend his land from what he saw as a rival. The two Lindorms met with a mighty crash, grappling with their huge paws and arms, locking horns and curling tails together in attempts to gain the upper hand... or paw as the case may be.

Loki lifted the titan's amulet again, but Dante stayed her hand. "Steady." He murmured quietly, and she nodded, lowering the pendant, but held it at the ready, tense and alert.

Suddenly, the titans broke apart to charge each other, and Zhalia had to release the spell, breathing heavily. The second Lindorm disappeared into flickers of orange light, and the remaining bear-dragon looked around, stunned and surprised. Amber eyes narrowed, Dante nodded to his student. "Do it, Loki!"

"Lindorm!" The blonde called to her titan, shimmering faintly, switching between green fire for her titan and blue mist for herself, and the titan turned to face her, emerald eyes wide at the force and strength in her cry. "Return to me, now!" With one final roar of anger and defiance, Lindorm returned to his amulet, his freedom over... for now.

Sagging slightly, Loki propped herself up against one of the posts on the pier, shivering. She blinked, surprised, when Lindorm called her her through their Bond.

"_I will not test you so again. I see your heart is true, and your strength great and mighty, like my own. I will abide by your wishes, and relinquish the bloodlust that my past masters have given me. I am your servant alone now, Burning-Brightly. As you will, I will do."_

The azure-eyed girl felt the sincerity in the titan's deep rumble, and clenched her hand around his amulet, the spines along its curved edge digging into her palm. "Betray me, dragon, and you shall remain in your prison till the end of my days. I will never summon you again."

Silence echoed across the Bond before Lindorm sighed. "_As you wish, so it shall be. I will not harm an innocent again- unless they try to hurt you."_

Outside Loki's head, Will was looking at the spot where the titans had fought, his brow furrowed with thought. "What was that?" He murmured, not liking the idea that someone else had a Lindorm, or that the bear-dragon could duplicate himself.

A snarky, dry voice came from behind them as Zhalia sauntered over, coffee-coloured eyes gleaming with smug pride, dark hair drifting softly on the sea breeze. "Well, don't everyone thank me at once. I finally mastered the illusion power we found." Hands on hips, the Seeker shot her friends a cocky smile, and Loki whooped whilst the boys just smiled.

"That's fantastic! I'm sure that'll be a great help!"

Surprisingly, Will agreed. "Yeah, that's great. She can use illusions now. Brilliant." He fell quiet, thinking of all the ways she could deceive them now, and added it to his Reasons-Not-To-Trust-Zhalia list. It was getting rather big now.

Dante just grinned, his amber eyes saying everything for him. The blue-haired woman barely stopped herself from blushing at the proud look in his eyes, one that was more often directed to his students, and shook a tapered finger at the blonde beside him.

"You know, Loki, Lindorm is a violent titan." The teen rolled her azure eyes and muttered something like 'And don't I know it'. Smiling coyly, Zhalia went on, her tone half-mocking, half-warning. "You'll have to think destructive thoughts to control him." With a sigh, Loki nodded her agreement, and the mocha-orbed Seeker grinned. "Now don't we have a mission to get back to?"

The russet-haired man nodded, excitement and the prospect of finishing the mission and getting home lighting up his face. "That's right! We set of for the Argo today!" In one leap, he cleared the railing of the boat and nearly scampered up to the controls, waiting impatiently for his team. Loki sighed, rolling her eyes, although all four of them left behind were in awe of the older human's energy. The blonde thought to herself, sniggering, that if he had a tail, it would be wagging.

Laughing softly, the Irish lass climbed aboard the ship, her teammates following, Will looking more than slightly displeased at the thought of more days at sea, his face already turning as green as his eyes at the thought.

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><p>AN: Though this is all one scene, I wanted to dedicate an entire chapter to what has happened to Grier since we last met the blond. That guy is so... weird, and yet so completely honourable...<p> 


	36. Chapter 35 Like Father Unlike Son Part 2

AN: Sorry I'm late people, but illness does that to an update!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 35- Like Father, Unlike Son Part 2

And at the precise moment, Grier was watching the Mediterranean sunrise from a helicopter, his fathomless sea-green eyes reflecting the light instead of seeing them, the blond lost in memories.

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><p><em>"Ah, Grier." The Professor smiled as Grier entered his office, but the smile held no warmth, only casual cruelty, an evil ambition that had no limits to what its owner would do. Even as the blond minion watched, the old, fat man reclining in the chair before him reached out a beckoning hand to the suit knelt on the ground before him, the ring that adorned his pudgy finger glowing with a sickly, pulsing light that looked like waves of blood washing over the chestnut-haired suit."I've heard good things about you. You're a man who understands the importance of control."<em>

_Grier bowed his head in respect to his master, unnerved by the unblinking orb that used to be the Professor's right eye. "Yes sir." He looked up, meeting those cold, dead eyes for a mere second before being forced to look away. "The Organization brings order. In order, there is security."_

_A cruel smile grew on the Professor's face as he waved away the now adoring suit. "Exactly. I like the way you think. It's rare to find a subordinate who doesn't have any need for," He fingered the ring on his finger, a gesture full of threats and promises. "Various attitude adjustments."_

_The unblinking, all-seeing eyes narrowed. "But before you can take up your first command, Grier, you must dispose of your predecessor."_

_The blond minion knelt, his eyes on the floor. "As you wish. I will dispose of Defoe."_

_A few hours later, he was standing in front of Defoe's barracks, ready to do what had to be done._

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><p>"Sir?" A voice came over Grier's headset, and the blond jumped out of his memories.<p>

"Report."

The pilot half-turned to give his commanding officer a business-like nod. "We're coming up to Sutos now, sir. Drop off in 5."

Grier nodded back to his subordinate- how strange it still seemed to have minions! "Take us down."

There was commotion on the island below, smoke and fire and gunshots filling the air. Sea-green eyes burning, the normally controlled blond felt his hands clench into fists, his lips pull back in a snarl. This must be stopped.

A voice ran up from outside the smoking ruins of the castle at the outskirts of the island's only town. "Open up in the name of the warlord Zan-Tanos, rightful ruler of Sutos!" A pompous, richly dressed figure surrounded by cutlass-wielding men seemed to be the speaker, watched by many fearful eyes as the villagers of the small cluster of building nearby poked their heads out to see what was going on.

As Grier got closer, he could hear and almost see one small child grasp at his mother's skirts with dirty hands, eyes wide at the noises coming from what had once been a place of safety for his family. "Mom, what's wrong?" He asked, his high, innocent voice piercing through the gunfire coming from the citadel.

More and more people flooded out of their homes, gathering in the streets to see the destruction of yet another Warlord and his posse. One old man, carrying a basket of food in his arms, sighed, his aged form bent and crippled with age, his eyes misted over with cataracts. "More fighting.." He muttered under his breath. "It's been ten years of civil war! Will there ever be peace?"

From the shadows between the houses, a group of thuggish brutes marched forth, swinging their weight around and beating down all who opposed them. "No time soon, old man!" The leader of the looters growled, striking the wizened man with the back of his hand, sending him spinning into the dirt. "Now hand over your wallet! I've got my own revolution to support!"

By this time, the helicopter squad the Grier and his men had been assigned to travel in had dropped lower and lower, till the preoccupied villages couldn't help but noticed the ugly, bug-like droning that drowned out all else, couldn't help but seen the immense, black shapes that filled the sky. Some cried out in fear, gathering their loved ones and running from what they saw as yet another weapon against them. Other just stood there, unbelieving with their mouths hanging open.

After signaling to his team to wait, Grier swung down from his helicopter, burning his hands as he slid down a rope, leaping off and landing on the roof of one of the only cars in the town- his weight and the force of his jump smashed it, caved it in completely. Using the crumpled structure of the vehicle to springboard up and off the car and onto the ground, he frowned down on the villagers, holding his stern, cold mask firmly in place, knowing from the fear on their faces that he was both a god and a devil, sent to deliver or devour them. The uncertainty that lingered in their eyes belayed the trouble they were having deciding which he was going to be.

"This island," He rumbled, causing a few of the islanders to back away. "Sutos, and everyone on it, is now under the jurisdiction of the Organization. No exceptions."

The leader of the cutlass-men sauntered forwards, brandishing the weapon. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Grier smiled, a cruel tilt of the lips, as he reached into his jacket. "Allow me to clarify." Holding the bear-head amulet that belonged to his most favored titan above his head, he cried. "Breaker, bring discipline!"

The four-armed bear burst from the pendant in an explosion of blue light, snarling and growling. In response to his master's orders, he swiped at the troublesome gang leader, snapping his massive jaws together and showing off his gleaming fangs. As the titan did his work scaring the villagers into submission, his Seeker waved a hand, signaling for his men to join him on the ground.

Once they had all dropped down from the helicopters, he recalled Breaker to his side. "Secure the village. I'll take the Warlord's mansion." Turning away, he marched towards the smoking ruins of the once grand castle, the giant tribal bear at his side.

* * *

><p>A few miles away, the team were reaching their destination. With Dante and Zhalia at the controls, the journey had taken almost no time at all, and the only one who thought it was taking too long was Will. The emerald-eyed boy spent most of the time below decks, trying to ignore the constant shifting and rocking of the boat.<p>

With the adults busy, and her best friend not feeling well enough to more than groan, Loki occupied herself with Admetus's journal. Revisiting the part where the Argonauts were traveling to the Aegean Islands to sink the Argo, one particular passage caught her eye. Frowning, the blonde padded up to where Zhalia and Dante were driving the boat, whistling to catch their attention.

"We may have a slight problem." Slowing the boat, the auburn at the wheel turned to face her, his amber eyes serious.

"What kind of problem?" Seeing the teen's eyes look behind him, wide and disbelieving, Dante turned to see two great slabs of rock appear on the horizon. They stretched wider than the eye could see, a huge blockade rising out of the ocean. The only passage through them was a slim channel that cut between the rocks. The russet-haired Seeker raised his eyebrows at the teen beside him, amber eyes sparking.

"That kinda problem?" Loki nodded before crouching next to him, showing him the passage in the book that had alerted her to the danger.

"It says here that these are called the Symplegades. Admetus doesn't say why they're so dangerous, but I think I've heard of something like them before..." She trailed off, looking up at the massive cliffs. "Hey, look up there! There's a burn mark on both sides of the cliff!"

Cherit flew to perch on the blonde's shoulder, gazing up at the rocks with awe. "That's some coincidence."

Dante stood, reaching into his jacket, his golden eyes watching the cliffs with distrust. "Maybe not." He drew out the blue amulet that belonged to his Aztec warrior, calling the titan's name. Caliban leapt forth from his resting place, landing on the front of the ship just as Will poked his head out the hatch. The entire ship lurched downwards, sending Will tumbling down the stairs again, and one of the fridges at the back of the boat went flying through the air.

Will, his emerald eyes blazing, appeared at the top of the steps just in time to see the cliffs close together around the little, flying cooler, destroying it completely. His anger disappeared, and he joined the team at the controls.

Zhalia, who was watching the trap with apprehension, closed her eyes, thinking. "Not the most elegant trap I've ever seen." She murmured, wondering how to get past it.

Will nodded, agreeing with her for once. "Still, anything caught in there would be crushed in an instant."

Dante sighed, looking first left, then right, trying to see if there was any other way around the Symplegades. "We have to get past these cliffs."

As the team watched, the cliffs shrieked and groan, starting back to their starting position. Loki gasped, her azure orbs wide, an idea filling her thoughts. "I remember where I've heard of them before! They're the Clashing Rocks! We have to get through whilst they're resetting!"

"Hold tight!" The russet-haired Seeker warned, reaching to push the throttle as far as it would go. Feeling the boat rocket forwards, Loki leapt to grab the railings, but Will had no such support, and instead went tumbling backwards, head over heels.

"Ow." He muttered quietly, picking himself up and rushing back to his teammates. Cherit flapped to land on his shoulder, looked back and forth between the cliffs with anxious eyes.

"Are we going to make it?" He asked, his hoarse voice high with fear.

The blonde teen in front of him shrugged, following his gaze, and bit her lip. "The cliffs have almost reset!" She shouted over the engine, her agile mind working out their odds of survival. "We need to go faster!"

Zhalia shook her head, coffee-coloured eyes grave. "We're not going to make it- the engine's burning up!"

Dante focused on guiding the boat. "We've only got a few seconds!"

The blue-haired woman scoffed, flicking hair from her eyes. "Would it help if I got out and pushed?" She muttered sarcastically, not noticing the way Loki's eyes lit up at her words.

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" The blonde dashed to the lower deck, Will following her, and jumped off. Leaning over the side, the Casterwill above her sent a Nimblefire to coat her in a fiery nimbus, and the azure-eyed teen grabbed the stairs that hung off the back of the ship, running on the water, propelling the boat through the water.

Dante looked back at Zhalia, raising his eyebrows, then called to his titan on the prow of the boat. "Not fast enough. Caliban, help her!" The Aztec nodded, jumping overboard, and a blue streak followed him as his Seeker sent a Hyperstride to power him along.

By now, the cliffs as reset, and were speeding towards each other, the boat trapped right in the middle. "Here it comes!" Zhalia warned, biting her lip. They weren't going to make it!

The golden-eyed man nodded, trying to think of a plan. "We need more speed!" He yelled, but the blue-haired woman beside him shrugged helplessly, not knowing what to do to get that vital push.

Caliban, however, looked up at the approaching cliffs, an idea forming in his titan mind. Without asking for permission from his Seeker, he let go of the boat, grabbed Loki and tossed her onboard, before leaping from the water to stretch between the cliffs, using his own body to hold them back.

Gasping for breath and soaking wet, Loki watched in awe of the titan's courage and selflessness as the boat sped out of the Symplegades just before they crashed together, crushing the titan inside. A stream of blue energy flowed from the rocks, heading towards Dante, and he lifted Caliban's amulet into the air, allowing the titan to return. "Thanks Caliban." The pendant glowed weakly in response, before the auburn tucked his titan back inside his trenchcoat.

"We made it!" Cherit cried, swooping about the deck, a giddy grin on his little face. Zhalia, however, remained unimpressed.

"Barely." She snapped, and the titan drooped, flying to curl around Loki's shoulders as she headed towards the hatch, Will following closely, his eyes watching the blonde anxiously.

He stopped, staring at the island that was before them, his brow furrowed. "Wait, where are we?"

Zhalia frowned, reaching for the holotome on the controls. Accessing the Global Mapping network, she found the island and its history in moments. "Sutos Island," She told her teammates, closing the machine and placing it back where it belonged. "And that bay..."

Dante smiled, picking up where she left off. "Is the perfect place to sink the Argo so no one can find it."

Loki grinned, turning to dash back to the hatch. "Great! Let's go check it out!"

The auburn shook his head, stopping the boat and turning to face his team. "We have to be cautious. Sutos is in the midst of a civil war."

Will nodded, looking out over the water, his eyes focused on the smoking castle he could see not far from the shore. "Sounds dangerous."

Dante sighed, starting the boat up again and swinging it around so the circled the island. "To be safe, we'll dock on the far side of the island and sneak up on foot."

* * *

><p>Little did they know, the smoke that they could see billowing from the mansion was not smoke from guns- it was smoke from Seeker powers, and Grier's in particular. With Breaker at his side, the blond had smashed in the Warlord's palace, knocking out all the guards, and leaving twisted ruins of cars in his wake. Leaving Breaker to guard the entrance against any attacks or reinforcements, the green-eyed Organization man marched up to the throne room, bursting in, scaring the two swordmen that stood protecting the current Warlord, Zan-Gason.<p>

The older swordman pointed his weapon at Grier, scowling. "How did you get past our defenses?"

Grier smirked, walking up to the throne. "Easily. Submit to the Organization."

He strode right up to the swordmen, ignoring the weapons in their hands. "Halt, invader scum!" The younger one cried, right before Grier grabbed their heads and smashed them together, effectively knocking them both out.

Zan-Gason cowered in his throne, shrinking into the wood in fear. "What are you going to do to me?" He asked, his once proud and arrogant voice now weak and pleading.

Grier didn't answer, instead summoning a Dragonfist to cover his fists in red light. Zan-Gason whimpered, pleading for mercy. The blond just grabbed the underside of the throne, pulling it out from under the fat Warlord before throwing it away to smash against the wall.

A cry of fear behind him made Grier half-turn, his turquoise eyes narrowed. A gasp, coming from the same place as before, echoed around the room before a fat old man wearing a tunic and leggings, holding a twisted staff, with a long, white beard that matched his hair for length, a circlet around his wrinkled forehead, stepped out of an alclove.

"It can't be." The man whispered. "It's been ten years, but I'll ever forget...Zan-Grier! Son of our greatest leader, Zan-Sutos!"

The blond turned away from his victim, allowing Gason- for he would never be a warlord again- to flee. He smiled as he walked over to the chubby local, recognizing him. "Governor?"

The Governor laughed, banging his staff on the floor in his excitement. "My word, it _is _you! I'd lost all hope- I feared Sutos would be forever plagued by civil war."

As the blond neared his old friend, the men clasped each other's arm in the national greeting, the taller man grinning just as widely as the shorter. "You have nothing to fear. I have returned to bring order to our land."

The old man bowed his head, then turned and waved for Grier to follow him. "Despite the constant chaos, a glimmer of faith inspired me to keep something safe, should you return."

He lead the blond deep into the castle's vaults, to a safe built into the wall, hidden behind a picture of the old Warlord, Gason. Governer gave a little chuckle. "Since you've been gone, I've had to change the picture five time!" He explained, spinning the dial. Instead of the door opening, it disappeared in a flash of golden light. Reaching inside, he pulled out a velvet cushion, upon which an amulet rested.

"Please, accept this. It is your father's amulet, Megataur!" He knelt, his eyes shining with happiness. "And with it, leadership of Sutos." Grier bowed his head, then reached out a hand to take up his titan, and his command.

* * *

><p>AN: Let the war of the silly clothes COMMENCE<p> 


	37. Chapter 36 Like Father Unlike Son Part 3

AN: I am so sorry its taken this long to get the chapter up, but after exams, domestic problems, more exams and NO INTERNET, I haven't been able to get on much sooner than now!

If it makes it any better, in my absence I have made a Deviant Art account (username LokiLambert) and am filling it with pictures of the team, drawn by moi!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 36- Like Father, Unlike Son Part 3

Meanwhile, in the town square, the Huntik team were hiding in the shadows, trying to figure out the Organization's reasons for coming to the tiny island. All became clear when, a few minutes later, a megaphone began to call out to the villages. "All citizens must be registered with the Organization."

A long, winding queue formed around the village, filled with frightened islanders. A machine was set up in the square in front of one of the helicopters, and the first villager in the queue was pushed towards it, forced to place his hand on it. When his hand came away, the print remained, and all the information about the man's life came up on the screen. The villager staggered away, terrified of these strange men with their machines that knew all about him, and the other islanders began to quake in fear.

The megaphone crackled into life, calling out another message. "Everyone must report by sundown. No excuses."

And down the alley-way where the team- minus Will- was hiding, Zhalia narrowed her eyes. "The audacity. They're treating them like prisoners!"

Loki bowed her head, closing her eyes, a half-remembered memory surfacing in her mind.

_Her father, holding her close, their laughter filling the air at some joke one of them had made. Eathon had started tickling her, and she'd squirmed and wriggled to get free, screaming with laughter, yelling for him to let her go. As soon as she said those words, he released her, a clever little smile on his face, half-hidden by his mustache. Loki could feel a lesson coming on, but her dad always taught her important things, unlike her teachers. _

_"Freedom is the key to everything, Loki." He rumbled, and she'd nodded, not truly understanding. He knew that she was confused, and held her close to whisper to her, as if his words were made of precious jewels, for her ears only. "You can't explore without freedom of movement. You can't solve a puzzle without freedom of thought." She'd nodded, his lesson finally making sense, then smiled up at him as he tickled her cheek with his mustache._

_"Freedom is the key to everything." They said together, not knowing the other was going to speak, before bursting into laughter._

* * *

><p>Behind her, Dante turned to scout for suits, leaving the girls to watch the Organization's movements. He jumped, hearing voices, and ducked into the shadows before realizing that the voice was that of a local, and he wasn't talking to the russet-haired man.<p>

"You heard me! Hand over all you've got, and you won't get hurt!"

It was one of the cutlass men, and he was threatening a lady with two bags of shopping. Dropping her bags, she backed up to the wall, eyes wide as the man advanced towards her. Just as he was about to reach her, two voices rang out, and a beam of icy blue hit the swordman in the back, knocking him down. "Augerfrost!"

The lady knelt to gather her things, hands trembling, eyes round with fear. The two suits, or rather troopers (Grier had upgraded their outfits to army pants and green T-shirts, along with boots, hats and sunglasses), who had saved her padded over, the younger getting down to help her to her feet. "Grier said no trouble. Anyone causing trouble, gets trouble." The older suit barked, fingering the amulet at his belt.

The villager bowed her head. "T-thank you, sirs." The young, kindly suit smiled.

"We're just doing our jobs, miss. You should report to registration." As the woman and the suits moved away, Dante frowned, heading back to the group. "Grier again..." His amber eyes narrowed, thinking. Why was Grier here, of all places?

* * *

><p>Back with the girls, Zhalia and Loki were having trouble of their own- fighting their tempers. Both of them wanted to just go a break a few Organization heads and help the islanders, but they both knew it wouldn't help to go charging in. The blue-haired woman sighed, ducking down beside her younger companion to hide from another batch of suits. "Once again, the strong have overpowered the weak." They stood as Dante joined them, then Will.<p>

The Casterwill was dressed like the locals, with a scarf around his head, some calf high boots, dark green trousers and a waistcoat, and had gone to asses the situation with the villagers. Loki had volunteered to go, but the brunette had firmly disagreed, going himself. He was glad he had, though he did think the locals might have told the talkative girl more- and the fact that she had laughed at his outfit didn't help... The boy's mentor looked up as he approached, golden eyes dark with worry. "Any luck?"

He nodded. "Well, I was able to chat with some of the locals." Dante held up a hand to stop him, looking towards the square anxiously.

"Let's talk somewhere a little more private, shall we?"

* * *

><p>The group snuck out of the village, making their way to the jungle a few miles away from the Warlord's palace. Settling down, Will made his report. "According to the villagers, the Organization landed <em>this morning<em>, and took over by force. They secured the phone lines, the docks...even used titans on the locals!"

Loki bowed her head, thinking back to her father's words all that time ago, and clenched her hands into fists. By this time, the entire team was in disguise, with the girls in long, full-skirted dresses, and headscarves that hid their faces. "I knew it! The Huntik Foundation is all about freedom, right?" No one answered, but the blonde went on anyway. "We gotta kick the Organization out of here!"

Dante, who wasn't in disguise, pulled his holotome from his trenchcoat, opening it and putting it on a rock in the middle of the clearing. "For now, we have to worry about our mission, the Argo. Will, did you learn anything about the ship?"

The emerald-eyed boy nodded. "It's just as you said. The fishermen say there's evidence of a big shipwreck in the bay." The amber-orbed Seeker opposite him grinned, a flash of a smile that said: _When am I ever wrong?_, before ducking his head to the holotome again.

"These suits are being led by Grier." He said, glancing at each member of his team in turn before looking back down at his machine. Secretly, he was worried about Grier's promotion. If he had surpassed Defoe, then what had happened to him? Was Liam... dead?

Shaking himself mentally, he brought up a map of Sutos on his holotome. "They're most likely concentrated in the old warlord's mansion, which overlooks the bay." He tapped the image of the castle on the map, and it zoomed in, showing the layout. "Will, Loki, Cherit, you three will keep the Organization busy." Three figures appeared on the screen, copies of the Seekers and titan watching.

Loki nodded, determined. "On it." Dante's eyes flickered to her, and his mouth set in a grim line.

"If you get in a fight out in the open, don't try anything fancy. You should rely on straight combat titans, like Sabriel, Freelancer, and Lindorm."

Will frowned, toying with Sabriel's amulet from where it was hanging around his neck. "But who's going to dive down to find the Argo?"

Dante's answer was quick, and unwelcome to the Casterwill. "Zhalia." The brunette clenched his fists, shooting the blue-haired Seeker a hate-filled glare. She shrugged back, resisting the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him. With a sigh, the russet-haired leader went on, trying to ignore the feud between his teammates. "With her skills, she has the best chance of sneaking past the municipal guards Grier has recruited." The holotome switched to an image of Zhalia in scuba-diving gear, and the mocha-orbed woman sighed. That picture was so unflattering.

Will glared at her again, interpreting the sigh as Zhalia being unwilling to contribute. Catching the glance, she glared back at him. "What's with the look? Think I'm going to keep all the treasure for myself?"

"I wouldn't put it past you." He replied, haughtily. Zhalia gave Will a smug look, shrugging as if his opinion didn't matter- something she knew would annoy him even more.

"Well at least Dante trusts me."

Will shot a smug look of his own right back. "Nobody's perfect." Loki gave a long-suffering sigh, having been the peacemaker for most of the pair's fights, and decided to ignore them.

"Dante," She asked, head tilted to one side, Cherit on her shoulder. "You still haven't told us what _you're _going to do." The little titan nodded his agreement.

The auburn bowed his head, the dappled shadows of the canopy casting darkness over his face, then looked up, his golden eyes burning from under his shaggy hair. "Obviously, I'm going to face Grier, alone."

Will rolled his eyes, his squabble with Zhalia putting him in a bad mood. "Didn't you just tell us our mission is more important than challenging the Organization?"

"I was actually hoping to reason with him." Dante explained with a sigh, thinking to himself that he could learn about Liam's fate whilst he was there. "But if I can't keep Grier out of the way, we'll lose. So if talking doesn't work- we fight. To the finish."

He stood, finishing the discussion, and the team split up. Tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind her headscarf, Loki hoped the suits hadn't noticed that all the islanders had dark hair and eyes, then helped Will to set up their trap for the suits. Grinning at each other, the pair felt both scared and excited about their plan- if something, anything, went wrong, it could signal game over for them all.

* * *

><p>They trekked up to the mansion, donning peasant cloaks to guard themselves from the sun and to hide their faces. Cherit hid under the blonde's hood, his grey eyes gleaming from the shadows. The pair had almost reached their destination when Loki stopped Will, grabbing his arm to turn him around. "Sabriel's amulet is still around your neck!"<p>

The Casterwill blushed, and quickly untied the pendant, hiding it away. He smiled gratefully to his friend, then took her hand, walking around the mansion's corner into view of the guards. The tallest suit, a muscular man with dark skin, hair and eyes, spotted them first.

"Hey!" He yelled, and the teens pretended to jump. "Who are you?" Will stepped in front of Loki, and scuttled over, acting scared. The azure-eyed girl padded after him, lifting the hem of her skirt with one hand, the way she'd seen the village women do.

"We're townfolk, uh, from the town." He almost winced, hoping that the suits would put his hesitance, accent, and fearful expression down to him being a villager, and not down to lying. Luckily, the suits weren't experts in micro expressions, and they weren't that smart either, so Will was in the clear. "We need your help!" The boy went on, stretching his eyes wide, pleading.

Loki peered out from behind him, her large, anxious eyes and fretful, nervous movements making her the very image of a scared islander. "Please, sirs, they're rebelling against the Organization! You have to help us!"

The youngest suit put his hands on his hips, trying and failing to look heroic. "A revolution? We'll put those islanders in their place!"

The dark suit nodded, trying to get control of the situation. "Take us to them."

Changing her victorious grin to a flirtatious smile, Loki turned away. "You guys are so predi- I mean reliable."

The third suit lingered at the doors to the mansion. "Shouldn't someone stay behind to guard the castle?"

The dark suit half-turned to glare at his companion. "Let someone try to break in. No one can stand up to Grier. Now, hurry up, chicken."

And around the corner, Dante pulled an amulet from his pocket, smiling a grim, little smile.

* * *

><p>The teens led the suits on for a bit, sharing looks and smiles, before they reached the clearing. Slowing down slightly, they let the suits get a good look at the village- which was in the opposite direction. "Hey, where are you taking us?" One suit yelled, clenching a fist, expecting them to cower in fear. When they just stopped, their backs to their enemies, the suits started to think something had gone wrong.<p>

Loki laughed softly, before turned around, her hood and scarf falling to reveal her blonde hair and azure eyes. "To the revolution, of course." The suits gasped, realizing they had walked into a trap led by the Professor's dearest wish. Will turned as well, his eyes glinting with mischief, and the suits began to wish they'd stayed at the mansion.

"We have you- give up!" Will jeered, and Freelancer, Sabriel and Icarus appeared from the trees. Looking around, Loki realized this was one of the Bonding scenes she'd seen with her armored titan and then, seeing Cherit perched atop her titan's head, realized it was two. She smiled, new certainty at what she was doing filling her mind.

The oldest suit growled, white teeth flashing against dark skin, and reached into his pocket, drawing out a Redcap amulet. "Make fools of us, huh." He snarled, raising it above his head. "Re-" The bird-man titan belonging to Will swooped across the clearing, slapping the amulet from the suit's hand with one giant wing.

The Casterwill grinned, pleased. "Anyone else want to try?" He asked, casually twisting a Raypulse between his fingers.

Loki looked about, trying to put her finger on something lurking at the back of her mind, something important. Something they'd missed whilst planning, it was so obvious, and yet she couldn't think what it was. Eyes widening, the blonde turned to her companion. "Will, we forgot about-"

"Hey!" Two new suits had walked into the clearing, confused at the scene before them. The azure-eyed girl sighed, her fears recognized.

"We forgot about patrols." She muttered to Will, and he nodded slowly, trying to think of a new plan. His thoughts were broken, however, by two Raypulses slamming into the ground about a meter away from him. In the dusty, confused moment that followed, the trio of suits the teens had planned to trap pulled out their amulets, calling forth a Redcap, Mindrone, and Jokoul to join the rapidly increasing crowd against the Huntik team.

Loki and Will shared a look, nodded to each other, then stood back to back, fists and powers raised against their enemies. "Have things turned ugly, or is it just them?" The blonde quiped, her quick, clever eyes searching for an escape route.

Will stepped behind Sabriel as the Jokoul made to attack. "These suits are way more disciplined then Defoe's!"

The azure-eyed girl beside him shook her head, making a plan, but not liking their odds or what it would cost them. "We have to make a break for it!" Without waiting for agreement from Will, knowing it was their only hope, Loki had Freelancer charge at the suits, and she followed in his wake, grabbing Will's hand and towing him along. Sabriel instinctively guarded their rear, swinging at any and all who came close with her curved sword.

The suits yelled, either with fear as they were charged at by Freelancer, or at each other to stop the teens from escaping. Icarus shot a bolt of blue energy at the group in front of the lance-wielding titan, clearing the team's way to the open desert sands. The French-style armored titan hefted his lance onto one shoulder, twisting his grip to throw it at the Mindrone. The one-eyed creature leapt aside at the last moment, and the weapon embedded itself into the ground. Looking around with wide eyes, the Huntik Seekers shed their cloaks, knowing they'd need all their maneuverability soon.

Finally gathering their wits together, the suits began to shoot at the rapidly disappearing teens and their titans, running after them, their weight and size making the sand shift beneath their feet. One suit loosed off an Augerfrost, aiming for Sabriel's undefended back, but slipped on the dune beneath his feet, sending the icy beam into Icarus instead. The blue-skinned bird-man disappeared into a stream of light that flowed back to Will, making him stumble as he ran. Loki quickly caught his arm, pulling him on. They couldn't stop now!

* * *

><p>And at the docks, the guards heard their fellow's angry cries, and ran to help, allowing Zhalia to slip into the water unnoticed. As she adjusted her breathing apparatus, she sighed. "Either those kids are doing a really good job of keeping the Organization busy, or a really bad job of staying out of trouble. Why do I get the sinking suspicion that they've messed up?" She shook her head, midnight-blue hair spread out like a fan on the surface of the water behind her, then dove down to find the Argo, and the treasures that awaited her there.<p>

* * *

><p>At the Warlord's mansion, Grier, now dressed in the ceremonial robes of a Sutos prince, and the Governor were watching from the battlements of the old building. "After half a day of peace?" The older man moaned, seeing the smoke rising from the teens' fight with the suits. "How can this be?"<p>

The blond put a hand on his old friend's shoulder, then turned for the door. "I'll find out who's behind this."

"I've found you!" A voice called from the rooftops, and a lithe figure outlined in the light of the setting sun appeared, jumping down in front of Grier. It was Dante, his shaggy, auburn hair mussed from the desert winds, eyes grave, face serious.

"Dante Vale." Grier bowed his head. "You must be here to fight me."

The russet-haired Seeker's eyes danced with laughter, and he sniggered softly. Grier glared at his opponent. "What?"

Dante looked the blond up and down, noting the long, dark green robe, and the weird headdress made of many curved lines, each ending with an emerald. "Nice outfit."

* * *

><p>Back with the teens, the suits were closing in, their prey having nowhere to hide.<p>

"Raypulse!" One suit cried, raising a glowing hand to aim at Will's back. The brunette spun on one heel, casting an Honourguard to protect himself and Loki, who shot her friends, both human and titan alike, a grim smile.

"I've got something I've been meaning to try!" She grinned, closing her eyes to focus, before opening them to aim a hand at the suit who had tried to hit Will. "Augerfrost!" A blue orb of light, almost the same colour as the girl's eyes, appeared in her hand before lancing out to strike the suit, knocking him unconscious.

Will cheered at the blonde, jade eyes filled with hope. "Nice, Loki. you pulled it off perfectly." He frowned as his friend began to shake her arm, concerned.

"Is it meant to make your hand go numb?" She asked, a rueful smile on her face. The Casterwill rolled his eyes- not noticing the Mindrone sneaking up behind him. Luckily, Cherit saw the one-eyed titan, and blasted him with his multi-coloured beam, destroying it completely.

A couple of suits, seeing the strength and power of their enemies, banded together to send a joint Augerfrost at the teens. Will, knowing that he didn't have enough time to summon another Honourguard, pushed Loki out of the way, only to be knocked aside himself by Sabriel. The pink-haired woman disappeared back to her Seeker, glad to have been of some service before she was destroyed.

Freelancer, eager to do the same, stood by his Seeker, deflecting any and all attacks that came her way with his shield. Whilst fighting the Redcap, catching the creature's long, flexible claws on his lance, the Jokoul charged across the sand, his jagged hands reaching for the armored titan's unprotected back. Loki, seeing the titan's problem, called out a warning, and Freelancer turned just in time to feel the rock-like claws pierce his armor, and he fled, unwillingly, back to his amulet, apologizing to his Seeker for his defeat.

* * *

><p>And two men, standing across from each other, watched the explosions of powers and titan attacks, neither one moving. Grier's sea-green eyes narrowed. "Aren't you going to help them?" He asked. The way in which the golden-eyed man before him was doing nothing went against everything he thought he knew about the Huntik Seeker.<p>

Dante kept his eyes on his opponent. "They can take care of themselves." He lied, pushing away the worry that rose as he thought about his teammates. "I'm here to find out what you're up to."

The two men fell silent before Grier spoke again. "The Organization has taken this island. Nothing more."

Amber eyes narrowed. "Subjugation?" The auburn asked, voice cutting and cold. "That's the kind of thing I prevent... by any means necessary."

"So why not make a move?"

Dante sighed, his head bowed. "You inspire loyalty in your men. Though they're thugs, I've seen you order them to show mercy to the weak."

His enemy sighed. "Without order, there is no peace, no security."

The russet-haired Seeker laughed. "Did you get that out of a fortune cookie?"

Grier snarled, his patience wearing thin. "_Life _showed me the need for order."

* * *

><p>And below them all, in the pure, azure waters of the Aegean Sea, Zhalia was nearing the ship. Worried thoughts flittered through her troubled mind, as many and as fleeting as the brightly coloured array of fish that swam past her. "Why did Dante have to go alone?" Was the second-most-common. "He might get hurt." Was the first.<p>

Reaching the ship, her eyes stretched wide, their coffee-coloured depths trying to see the whole thing at once, and failing. "It's huge!" The blue-haired Seeker thought to herself. "How am I gonna find anything in a ship this big?" Never the less, she continued on her journey to the ocean floor.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the teens had been surrounded by suits. Will, his green eyes narrowed into emerald slits, sighed, and drew out his last amulet. "Prepare yourself, Feyone!" He yelled, holding the amulet up to glint in the sunlight. It was a multi-layered semi-circle with a spiral spinning down from the jewel in its center. As both the pendant and its holder glowed with a turquoise light, the titan Feyone appeared.<p>

She was a mountain girl, with short, blonde hair cropped into a silky cap around her perfect face, and eyes that glowed the same colour as her amulet's stone. She was wearing a large hat, a huge semi-circle that curved around her head, with tassels on either end. Her top was thin with a fur lined collar, and reached to her stomach before stopping, a single strip connecting it to her long skirt and leggings over her stomach and her back. Her shoes were worn, leather slippers that laced up to her knees, and she wielded a long, curved sword whose handle was in the middle of the blade, elevated by two silver stumps so that Feyone could get her fingers around it.

Stepping in front of her Seeker, the titan flashed a glowing smile to her friends, then glared at her enemies. Behind her, Loki's eyes flickered from the newcomer to the boy beside her. How many titans did Will _have_?

A soft groan diverted her attention to the skies above her head, and the blonde saw Cherit flapping weakly in the air. "Sorry I won't be much help, Loki." He croaked, sagging lower. "That blast tuckered me out..." The azure-eyed girl held out her arms, and the titan flew to rest in them, eyes fluttering closed.

"Relax, Cherit." Loki whispered softly, hiding her fear in tenderness for her little friend. "We'll find a way."

Will looked over at the girl kneeling on the sand, his jade eyes worried and fearful. "I'm not too sure, Loki. Feyone's my last titan."

Loki looked over, glanced at the enemy, then turned her attention back to making a sling to carry Cherit in out of her headscarf, leaving her blonde tresses to blow freely in the wind. "If we run, the Organization will just keep treating these people like slaves." Her voice was deceptively mild as she finished the sling, standing up with Cherit tucked within, but her eyes were blazing with a sapphire fire, filled with hatred and pain.

The jade-eyed boy next to her nodded once, sharply. "Then we won't run. We'll stand and fight, even if we have no chance! We must!"

The blonde looked in shock between her friend and their numerous enemies. "But Will... you'll...I mean..." She trailed off, a single tear trailing down her cheek before she shut her eyes, determination setting her face into a expressionless mask.

"No!" The azure orbs snapped open, burning with anger, more tears following the first, each one lined with blue-grey mist. Will gaped at the might and strength of his friend, seeing how power just flooded from her. "I don't want to make a last stand!" The girl continued, reaching into her skirt-pouch, drawing out a green-stoned pendant. "I want to make sure the Organization never get away with this!"

Lifting the amulet above her head, hair whipping back and forth in the wind of the titan within's invokement, Loki called out to her last titan. "Fight with fury, Lindorm!"

The bear-dragon surged forwards like a wildfire, dangerous and fast, a deadly combination. Roaring down upon his foes, the sound formed a whirlwind to blind the suits and their titans with blistering sand.

"Don't let it get near us!" One suit yelled, covering his eyes with an arm, choking on the grainy air.

Loki smiled, a cruel curve of the lips, then cried out to the titan beside her. "Lindorm! Take them out!" With a sound that was felt deep in the bones rather than heard, he complied, swatting one with a paw as big as a car, whacking the other with his tail, sending him flying into the sea.

Will grinned, feeling the tide turn in their favor. "Amazing!" He cheered, looking at the suit now bobbing in the water. "Perfect control over Lindorm!" Turning back to the battle, what he saw there made his smile disappear.

Loki, with the great furry titan by her side, were charging at the two titans left, the Redcap and Jokoul. It wasn't that, which in any other situation would have worried him, that scared him- it was the light that gathered about the blonde and Lindorm. Blue-grey and mist-like, it was obviously Loki's power, but the girl had collected it in her palms, sending whip-like stands to lash out at the titans she and the bear-dragon were rushing at. Loki stopped, signalling for her titan to go ahead, then sent a beam of bright, burning blue to make a trench through the sand, the suits it was aimed at only just managing to jump out of the way.

"Loki!" He yelled above the roaring of the ferocious titan. "This isn't like you!" His emerald eyes wide, Will could only watch as Lindorm used one of the abilities that the holotome had warned them of earlier- Rolling Charge.

Leaping forwards, the bear-dragon span in a circle in the air, like a sawblade at a mill, carving great ruts in the sand. He charged at the suits, and they quivered with fear before the power of both he and his Seeker. "Bring that titan down!" The dark-skinned leader cried, pointing to the obvious target. His fellows replied with twisting bolts of fiery energy, knocking Lindorm out of his charge, the Raypulses sending him flying over a sand dune.

"No!" His mistress screamed, feeling his pain across the Bond. Will ran to her in the confused moment that followed the titan's fall, sending Feyone to keep the suits busy.

"Is Lindorm okay?" He asked, looked towards where the titan had disappeared. A great, furry, horned head peered around the dune, burning, jade eyes filled with hate and a hunger for revenge.

"Just fine." Loki growled, glaring at the people who had hurt her titan. "Let's take out the rest."

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Zhalia had reached the heart of the sunken ship, anxious to find the chest and get out of there. Being so far underwater still gave her the creeps, the thought of the long, airless gap between her and her next breath of fresh air making her more paranoid then usual. Every shadow flickering was a new enemy to face, every sound was someone trying to sneak up on her. With a mental telling off, the blue-haired woman forced herself to go deeper inside.<p>

"The captain's quarters should be just up here." She told herself, encouraging her fearful heart. "Farslip!" Reaching out a hand, a beam of green light shot from the tips of her fingers to push open the door to the cabin. Swimming past, she reached out her hand again.

"Farslip!" This time, the green bolt leapt from her fingers, hit the door, and rebound back towards her head. Zhalia let out a sharp cry, the sound echoing under the water, and dove to the floor as fast as she was able. How was she meant to get past that door?

* * *

><p>Back on the surface, the teens were facing down their greatly reduced enemies, preparing to finish the fight. "You can't win!" Will jeered, fists clenched and Feyone at his side. The suits held their ground, unhappy with their position, but knowing that to run meant desertion of the Organization- which was punishable by death. At least these Huntik agents might show a little mercy...<p>

Loki grinned at the boy beside her, still glimmering with mist. "Now's our chance," She whispered, azure eyes gleaming with mischief. "Let's rush them!" The pair and their titans raced across the desert sands, intent on their opponents, who paled but remained steadfast.

"No!" A voice, old and weary with age and experience. Eyes flicking over to the source of the noise, the blonde saw a crowd filling the horizon- the villagers!

Will stopped, with Loki soon following suit, Lindorm curling around her protectively. "Sir?" She called, tilting her head to one side in confusion. "What are you doing?"

The caller, a fat, old man with flowing hair tucked behind a circlet, a crooked staff in one hand. "We, the people of Sutos, waited for peace for ten years. We will do whatever it takes to preserve it!" The other islanders rallied around him, lifting farm tools and torches above their heads, shouting in Greek.

The flaxen-haired teen back away, eyes wide. "I don't get it!" She cried to Will, looking between the suits and their new allies. "Why would anyone want to be pushed around by the Organization?"

One villager leapt into a jeep- the sole car that the island owned- and started the engine, driving it towards the Huntik team. "We can't hurt them!" The Casterwill bit his lip, thinking hard for a solution. "They're innocent people!"

Seeing the danger his Seeker was in, Lindorm rose up to smash the natives aside like ants beneath his paws. Feeling his protective rage across the Bond, Loki threw out a hand to hold him back. "Stay where you are!" The bear-dragon did as he was bid, shifting uneasily as the car got closer and closer, the teens not noticing it, focusing instead on the suits and main group of villagers. The first the blonde knew of it was when Lindorm suddenly curled around her, taking the hit.

She coughed in the dust cloud that followed, eyes wide. They had just tried to hit her! With a car! In that moment of shock and disbelief, Lindorm took control.

_"You shall not harm her!" _The titan roared, his words flowing across the Bond to merge with his ground-shaking snarls in his mistress's ears. Rushing across the sand, the furry being leapt forwards to smite those that would hurt his Seeker.

"Stop! Listen to me!" Loki screamed, realizing what her titan was doing. "NO!"

* * *

><p>Her cry was carried by the desert breeze, floating up the hill to where Dante and Grier were facing one another. The russet-haired man span to the source of the noise, breaking his stare-off with his opponent.<p>

"Loki!" Gold eyes wide, the amber-orbed Seeker made to help his teammate, but Grier moved to block his escape. You couldn't blame Dante for overreacting- the blonde _always _got in trouble, be it through inexperience, recklessness, or trying to help a friend.

"If you want to help her, you'll have to defeat me first." Grier rumbled, bringing the auburn's attention back to the battle. He narrowed his eyes, backing off, his gaze flicking to look down the hill every so often, to watch the tiny figures of Will, Loki and their enemies.

"I might be able to arrange that." Dante murmured, preparing to fight.

* * *

><p>And as they watched, each waiting for the other to make a move, the teens were racing across the sands after the furious titan, Loki streaking ahead, amulet clasped in hand.<p>

"If you don't stop him, I will!" Will yelled, his hands glowing with the beginnings of a Raypulse. "Hurry!"

The blonde didn't answer, instead she skid to a halt, lifting the bear-dragon's amulet above her head. "Lindorm!" Her shout came not a moment too soon, and the titan dissolved into burning green light just as he reached the villagers. The islanders cowered away from the wind that rose up as he was returned to his pendant, the women of the group dropping their improteu weapons to run for cover.

When the dust cleared, Loki was standing before them, outline in shimmering blue and grey. Her azure eyes softened as she looked upon the villagers, before she turned to run back to the battle, golden hair streaming out behind her, tossed to and fro by the desert wind.

Cherit poked his head out of the sling about the girl's chest. "Strong work, Loki!" The pair shared a quick grin before they reached Will, standing back to back with the Casterwill as he lifted Feyone's amulet to the air again. A stream of moss-green energy was being absorbed by the pendant, and the brunette was trying not to wince at the pain of the titan's return.

"I kinda forgot about those guys." Loki admitted, biting her lip. "Sorry." Will shrugged, brushing off the pain, but traces of his discomfort remained in his emerald orbs.

"We're out of titans, but not out of enemies." He cried, frustrated. The trio of suits that remained ran closer, knowing they had the advantage.

* * *

><p>Dante watched as the teens stood back to back against their numerous opponents, hands clenched into tight fists, eyes burning with anger and frustrated helplessness. Grier smiled, a sinister curve of the lips. "If you won't make the first move, I will." The blond rumbled, sliding his foot across the ground into a fighting stance, leaving a line in the sand, a challenge.<p>

The russet-haired man beside him slid into a fighting stance too, a clever grin flickering across his face. "Grier, I've already made the first move." The ground began to shake, and Metagolem reached up through the earth to grab Grier's arm, lifting him up high as the colossal titan stood up to his full height. "I took the liberty of burying him under the sand earlier."

"Your not going easy on me this time!" The trapped Seeker exclaimed, surprise and shock in his sea-green eyes. "Hyperstride!" He used the power to wriggle free of the rocky creature holding him, striking Metagolem with a kick to the head.

The two men leapt for each other, trading lightening fast blows and kicks, reminiscent of the two grappling Lindorms that very morning. "To show respect to your opponent, you must fight with everything you have."

The blond narrowed his eyes, backing off from Dante. "Agreed! Breaker!" The bear appeared in a flash of blue light, snarling and foaming at the mouth.

Metagolem shook the earth as he strode over to stand in front of his Seeker, shielding the gold-eyed man from any charges the enemy titan may try. The human held his arm awkwardly, rubbing it to get some feeling back into the bruised limb. "He's at least twice as fast as he was before!" Dante muttered to himself. The fire-eyes of the stone titan narrowed, and he swung for Breaker, missing and sunk his fist into the wall of the mansion instead, tugging it out with a great screech of rock on rock.

Ignoring the noise and the titans, Dante ran towards the beach and his teammates, hoping to evade Grier, but the other man ran along side him, both equally matched in speed. "None of my superiors knew enough to order me to fight at my full power!" The blond yelled, falling into step with the auburn Huntik agent.

Gold eyes narrowed, their owner thinking hard, before Dante jumped into the air, launching a spinning kick at Grier that smashed into the other man's jaw, knocking him to the floor. "Then let's see if you can fight both Caliban and Metagolem!" He challenged his rival, and the Aztec warrior burst from his amulet in a spout of blue flame.

Grier picked himself up, knelt on one knee, and looked up at Dante with cold eyes. "As Prince Zan-Grier of Sutos, I have been passed the royal fighting titan, Megataur!" He reached into his long cloak before Caliban could stop him, pulling out the amulet that the Governor had given him earlier. Glowing turquoise, he lifted it to the skies, and allowed the fierce being within to charge forth into the mortal world.

It was a bull that stood as a man, with hands instead of hoofs, and long, sharp fingernails. Leather armor adorned his hairy torso, and gold bands circled his thick upper-arms. Gold chains wrapped around his back and wrists, attached to a slave-collar around his bulging neck. Gold rings pierced the long, flickering ears that twitched beneath his pointed, curling horns. He looked around himself at the world that had changed so much since he had last been summoned with dead, black eyes, then lifted his head to the bright sky with a bellow that shook the earth.

Dante blinked, surprised. "A prince, huh?" He frowned, thinking hard. "Well I guess that explains the makeover."

Caliban and Megataur crashed together in a sound like thunder and lightening, and held all the fury of the storm.

* * *

><p>"Why do I have to deal with this?" Zhalia thought to herself, floating in the sunken Argo. Before her were a series of pedestals, each with a small sculpture atop. "I think they're Greek legends." Drifting closer to each one, she tried to name them. The golden apple was The Apple of Paris for sure, the arrow embedded in its stand obviously Hercules' Arrow, but which was the key? "Unless..."<p>

The blue-haired woman picked up the lamb that was on one pedestal, and a coin from another, swimming to the cabin door's again, not noticing the shark that had just floated lazily through the door. "Jason was after the Golden Fleece- it's not one key, but two!" Placing the objects on a ledge just to the left of the great oak doors, she drifted backwards, smiling when both the sculptures and the doors began to glow with an icy white light.

Opening, the doors revealed a small compartment, within lay a old chest, covered with intricate carvings and gold. Zhalia allowed herself to relax for a moment, enjoying the feeling of triumph that came with completing her mission. "I should just take it to teach Will a lesson." She mused.

Feeling water surge behind her, the coffee-eyed Seeker span as fast as she was able in the water to face the huge shark charge towards her, its black, dead eyes filled with a primal hunger for flesh. Zhalia dove out of the way, feeling its dorsal fin brush her cheek, then punched it when it came back around.

Snapping the water in frustration, the shark swam away, its hunger frenzy over... for the time being. "Can't sneak up on a sneak." Its almost-victim muttered, turning back to the chest, wondering how she was going to swim to the surface with it weighing her down.

Hearing fishy tails slapping the frame of the doors behind her, Zhalia looked around to find that the shark had returned... with a friend. "Raypulse!"

How was she going to get out of this mess?

* * *

><p>And on the surface, Dante was having his own problems. Panting heavily, hands on knees, he glowered at his opponent- who was also having trouble breathing. "What's wrong Grier?" The russet-haired Seeker jeered, gasping slightly. "Getting tired?"<p>

Grier looked up from where he was kneeling, panting too. "Not as tired as you!"

"Nimblefire!"

"Shadowspeed!"

The men lashed out at the same time, trading furious blows faster than the eye could follow, coated in light and shadows. Beside them, Metagolem and Megataur drew apart to charge one another again, the bull bellowing his anger, whilst the rocky man that was his enemy making a loud rumbling sound, like an avalanche.

Dante broke free of Grier, dancing away out of his reach before darting up the hill, trying to go around the titan's battlefield. The blond was quick to follow, long green cloak snapping out behind him. As the Organization man got closer, his gold-eyed rival leapt up into the air, aiming a kick for his head. When his target dodged, Dante flipped backwards to land back on his feet before launching himself at Grier again.

The two exchanged blows in the air before landing and separating. Grier ran for a tree, using it to propel himself at his opponent. With a sly grin, Dante pulled Solwing's amulet from his coat, calling forth the titan within. The helmet-wearing bird flew for the still airborne blond, grabbing his wrists and flying high into the sky with him as his passenger. With his enemy out of the way, for the time being, the amber-orbed Seeker made a dash for the shoreline, where the teens were still fighting against almost impossible odds.

Looking down at the ground that was quickly getting far away, Grier blasted his captor with a Raypulse, falling back to Earth with a thump. Seeing Dante half way down the hill, he pulled another amulet from his cloak. "Mindrone!"

The one-eyed titan appeared in a flash of red light that made the grass seemed blood-soaked for the second it was there. Dante span around, falling to one knee, feeling the creature soar over his head, then turned back, launching a spinning kick at the titan, sending it crashing into a tree where he destroyed it with a Raypulse.

The odds were equal again.

The auburn's gold eyes met those of his enemy, before Dante turned and ran for the shore again, knowing he had to help his teammates.

* * *

><p>Down on the golden sands, the teens were getting steadily pushed back towards the waves, losing ground and energy at an alarming rate. Cherit crawled from the sling across Loki's chest to curl around her shoulders, looking at the suits amassing before them with horror. "You did your best, my friends! We'd better scurry off!"<p>

Will shook his head, mouth set with determination into a mulish frown. "No. We're standing our ground."

Loki glanced down at the little titan perched on her shoulder, eyes blazing with a mixture of anger and fear. "That's right. We can't leave these people at the mercy of the Organization!"

The boy beside her gave a disbelieving snort. "What mercy? These thugs don't have any!"

The suits snarled, closing in the net around their prey. Suddenly, a trio of the army-clad men broke off from the group, running towards the teens in a attempt to back them further towards the water.

As the Huntik team prepared to fight, a sound like the screech of rock on rock rang through the air, high and grating, a low, reptilian note twisting through the sound. Green light shot through the air from a spot behind the teens, and struck down the suits charging towards them. Spinning so fast that Cherit almost fell off her shoulder, Loki found herself face to knee with King Basilisk.

The large, serpentine creature looked rather pleased with himself, forked tongue flickering between his cavernous jaws, a shark tucked under each arm. The blonde wondered whether they were meant to be a snack for him later- could titans eat human food? Cherit certainly could, and was notorious for raiding Dante's cupboards. A call from the titan's head brought the azure-eyed girl's attention back to the matter at hand, and she looked up to see Zhalia stood on King Basilisk's triangular head, holding onto one of the spikes that lined his face for balance.

"You made it!" Loki cried, smiling broadly. "Find anything good?" The blue-haired woman set down the chest in her arms, opening the lid with disappointment.

"I got the logbook, but this stupid chest has nothing but shark's teeth and some amulets."

Will wandered over, unwillingly trusting Zhalia's titan to keep the suits at bay. "Zhalia!" He scolded, eyes gleaming with excitement. "Those are dragon's teeth! In the legend, Jason plants them in a field-"

With a sly smile, Zhalia cut in. "And out grow warriors." She picked up one of the three amulets from the chest. Shaped like a round, Greek shield, the pendant was made of gold, and dominated by the large, turquoise jewel in the center. Glowing the same colour as the stone, the amulet's newest owner raised it to the sky, calling out the name of the titan within. "Hoplites!"

The creature that burst from the amulet to land beside the teens below was an unnatural mix of human and animal- its body was that of a lion, tail swishing from side to side, and from the point where the neck would usually be, a human torso grew, resplendent in shimmering gold armor. His arms were covered with fine, brown hair, and a grey mane flowed from under the helmet that covered his face. A mohawk of grey feathers spouted from the top of the helmet, brushing against the ear-shaped structures that grew from the sides of the helmet. Brandishing his golden sword, leather wristguards gleaming darkly in the sunlight, Hoplite was the embodiment of the Greek spirit- legendary, undefeatable, a titan that would never give up.

Smirking at her new titan, Zhalia tossed the chest containing the other two amulet down to the teens. "Don't say I never gave you anything." She snarled to Will, and the Casterwill glowered at her, picking up an amulet. Loki elbowed him, tired of his and Zhalia's eternal feud, then plucked the last amulet from the chest.

"Thanks!" She called up to Zhalia, and a slight smile graced the older woman's delicate features before the blue-haired Seeker quickly hid it behind a smirk again. "What can these guys do?" The blonde asked Will, handing over her amulet for him to scan with the holotome.

The emerald-eyed lad gave her a cunning smile. "Don't worry- Hoplites are easy to invoke, but powerful when they work together." The machine in his hands reeled off statistics about the titans, ending with the message that their special ability was teamwork.

Cherit grinned. "Just like us!" Sharing a smile, the teens clasped their new amulets tightly, calling together to bring them into the world.

"Hoplites!"

The titans galloped down from the sky to stand beside their brother, roaring with strange voices that sounds like lions speaking human words. Loki spoke to her titan, the one standing in the middle, her voice cutting through their calls like light through the darkness.

"Stop those guys from attacking, but don't hurt them."

The villagers stared with wide eyes at the titans across from them, muttering with awe as some of their own legends pawed the ground and filled the air with their cries.

Cherit gave a sharp cry, flapping from Loki's shoulder to point to a nearby sand dune. "Hurry, look there!" Dante and Grier were facing off upon the sand, outlined by the sun, surrounded by golden auras.

Suddenly, the auburn fell to his knees, and Loki sucked in a sharp breath, eyes wide. Had he been hit? Was he hurt? Her worried frown soon became a smile as Dante sent a Bristlevine speeding through the ground, trying to wrap Grier's legs in the twisting plants. The blond jumped as the power grew near, however, and landed next to his opponent, slamming a Touchram into the ground as he did so, sending a huge plume of sand and dirt into the air, obscuring the pair from view.

Loki coughed, shielding her eyes from the sand that blew towards them in an insubstantial wall. "Are they both..." She didn't dare finish her question, not wanting to hear the answer. Will said nothing, instead reaching to grab her hand, running into the cloud.

The dust cleared, revealing the two men, both still standing, both unhurt. "I've waited my whole life to fight an opponent like you, Dante Vale." Grier rumbled, his cloak snapping in the wind.

Dante inclined his head, a half-nod of respect. "I think we finally understand each other."

The crowd, both Huntik and Organization rushed closer with the intent of helping their respective champion to defeat his enemy, but the sight that met them as they neared stopped all but Loki in their tracks.

Dante and Grier had called their titans to them, but not to fight. Instead, they stood side by side, facing the crowd. Loki looked between her mentor and her enemy with confusion. "Dante, have you lost it?" She cried, feeling betrayed. "We need to free Sutos! These people need to be free, no matter what it costs us!"

Grier bowed his head, hiding a single tear that glistened in his eye. "You have no idea.." He murmured. "Those were my father's last words."

Gaping, the blondes faced each other, looking into the others' eyes and seeing the same pain within. "Your father?" Loki whispered, not knowing what else to say. Grier nodded.

"My father ruled all of Sutos, but he gave up his own power." He said it simply, without emotion, but his eyes betrayed how fresh the wound of his father's death was, even after all this time. The girl across from him knew that pain, knew how dark the world seemed without the one they had lost. "Without the strength of his leadership," Grier continued. "We fell into a civil war. We lost everything."

Loki wanted to reach out, to place a hand on his arm, to comfort him as her grandmother had comforted her after Eathon's disappearance, but who Grier was and what he had done stood in her way, an invisible barrier between them, a difference that could never be overcome. "Because you lost your father, you joined the Organization?" She asked, shuffling backwards as Grier walked closer.

"I vowed to come back here someday... To bring order." The Governor waddled over, putting his hand on his old friend's shoulder, comforting him as Loki couldn't.

The old man turned to the azure-orbed teen, his own grey eyes sad. "And more importantly, he brought us peace."

Cherit nodded sagely from the air, then flew to land on Loki's outstretched arm. "The character of an individual is more important than the group he belongs to."

The blonde bowed her head under the weight of everything she had learned. "I got so mad... I didn't even think... If Sutos wanted to be saved." A blush spread across her cheeks. "I don't know what to say."

Dante walked over, resting a hand on his student's shoulder. "I do. Grier, its time we resolved our differences, without fighting."

Grier smiled. "I agree. My superiors don't know about the Argo. They never ordered me to guard it, and," His eyes flickered to the girl beside him. "I suppose I can let you go this one time, Loki. Finish your mission, and go." Dante bowed his head.

"I'm glad- we both know that none of us would let her go without a fight." The russet-haired Seeker offered out his hand, and the blond took it in a firm grip. "The Organization is rotten, Grier, but you are not. I'm sure you'll rule this place fairly."

* * *

><p>The teams parted ways as the sun set that evening, turning the waters under the boat into gold. Before the team left, Dante drew Grier to one side, his amber eyes anxious and filled with worry. "There is one thing I have to ask, Grier." He murmured, looking out over the ocean, trying to hide his emotions. "What happened to Li- I mean Defoe? Normally I'd expect him to be here, plotting to kill me someway or another."<p>

Grier stared out over the sea as well, thinking. "You almost called him Liam then. You must be the step-brother he always talked about." Dante gave a bitter laugh, his smile tainted too.

"Liam always did talk in his sleep." The two men stood in silence before Grier spoke again.

"I was ordered to terminate him." The auburn beside him bowed his head, forcing away the tears that threatened to spring into his eyes. Grier chuckled softly.

"I've only defied three orders during my service." The blond rumbled, turning his head to look at Dante. "The first was any order Liam screamed at me when he was mad at losing to you. The third was the order to capture Loki today."

Dante hardly heard the blond, hardly daring to believe. "And the second?"

"He's living in Venice, but all memory of the Organization and the Seeker world were wiped from his mind." The two men shared a smile, thinking about the future now that Liam was himself again.

"Thank you." Dante turned, and walked away.

* * *

><p>And on the boat as they sailed away later that evening, Loki was leaning on the rails, Cherit sat beside her, staring back at Sutos with bright eyes. "Cherit?"<p>

The little titan looked up at her, grey eyes wide. "Yes, my girl?"

The blonde sighed, closing her eyes and turning away from the island. "How do you think all this would have turned out if I'd joined the Organization?"

Cherit gaped for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts on how to answer this question on what seemed to him an impossible situation. "The Organization, lass? Well, I can't say. You don't seem the type to enjoy hurting people, or the kind of person who craves power. I don't think you would have fit in well with those people, but I can say for sure that had I met you then, I would still like you for who you are... or is it were?" They shared a laugh before drifting off into thoughtful silence, imagining a world where enemies were friends, friends were enemies, and where she'd never met Will, or Dante- or worse, _had _met them, and fought them! That place seemed a much darker, stranger world than the real world, and Loki shivered, glad she had chosen the right path.

* * *

><p>It took the team the rest of the day and night to sail to a port. They spent the next day flying home, with Zhalia disappearing at the airport again, leaving Dante crestfallen that she hadn't said goodbye. Will left soon after, following an impatient Santigo through the crowds. Arriving back at the house, a pile of mail blocked the door, and Loki bent down to pick them up and sort through them. Reaching the last letter, she froze, mouth open in shock.<p>

"Loki?" Dante turned to look at her, worried by the horror in her eyes. The girl didn't reply, instead trudging into the living room and flopping down onto the sofa, still staring at the letter in her hands. "Loki?"

Walking after her, the russet-haired placed a hand on her shoulder, and the girl jumped, looking up at him with wide, blue eyes. "Its addressed to me..." She looked back at the letter hanging limply from her hands. "How did anyone get this address?"

Frowning, Dante sat down next to her. "Do you know who its from?" The teen shook her head, bit her lip, then opened the envelope.

"It's from my mother." Loki whispered, shocked, not adding the 'foster' out of habit. "The dorm told her that I'd gone, and she wants to meet my new roommate- that's _you_!"

Dante smiled. "Wonder how she'll react to me? The Foundation must have made a cover-story for your disappearance." He laughed, but it soon died as he saw the horror on her face. "What?"

The blonde managed a weak grin. "I _am _worried about how she'll react to you- she's not the most... accepting of people... Mother want us to come down on the 9th," She bit her lip, trying not to laugh as she realized that she hadn't told Dante the next piece of information before. "To celebrate my birthday on the 10th."

The auburn grinned. "A birthday, hmm? And you neglected to mention this earlier, because?"

"I forgot." Loki admitted, giggling. "After all the excitement, and missions, and adventures, it completely slipped my mind." Suddenly, she gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. "I'm going to be seventeen. I can learn to drive! But seventeen is so _old_!"

Dante mock-frowned, flicking her on the nose, making her flap at his hand. "How old does that me then? Twenty-six isn't that ancient!" Loki raised an eyebrow, grinning.

"Really? _Really_?" She froze at the gleam in Dante's eye, then gave a little shriek as he tickled her.

"Do I look old to you?"

"YES!"

He grinned. "Wrong answer!"

The laughter, and tickling, carried on for a moment before Loki coincided, tears of mirth trickling down her face. "Your not old- twenty-six is the new twenty! Now, please, _stop_!"

Dante complied, leaning back with a smug look on his face. "That's better. Now, off to bed with you." Loki groaned, but stood up anyway. "You have lots of training to do tomorrow."

"Night Dante."

"Night." The gold-eyed man watched her scamper up the stairs, hair mussed from trying to wriggle free of his tickling, before diving for his mobile, dialing Will's number. "Will?"

A sleepy voice yawned down the line before the boy answered. "Dante? What's wrong? Has something happened?"

Dante grinned. "We have a slight emergency..."

* * *

><p>AN: And that is the end of that episode! So many questions have been answered, but so many more still need to be solved!<p>

Will Dante resumed contact with his step-brother? How will Loki's parents react to the team? And what are they going to get her for her birthday?

All will be revealed next time, on the Seeker Within!


	38. Chapter 37 Home Turf

AN: Happy, happy days, people! Due to the lack of internet (and thus distractions) I've managed to roll out another chapter in the space of a one day!

Enjoy this short space of time between each chapter. It may not last...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 37- Home Turf Part 1<span>

_County Kerry, Ireland_

Loki looked up at the sky, wondering how it had come to be that she was back here again. Back looking at these familiar hills, back smelling that familiar smell of grass, and sheep and emptiness. How many times had she walked down this track, bag on her shoulder, all alone because the other kids went to a different school? How many times had she walked down this path with her father when he was still around? She'd lost count, and yet she could still remember the first time she'd come down this path alone.

* * *

><p><em>The car rumbled down the road, bumping up and down on the uneven surface. Loki looked out the window, her eleven-year-old body curled up in the backseat. The grey sky matched her mood, and the rain helped to soothe away her own tears. Everything she loved was gone- her father, her grandmother, her home, her heart. And yet this landscape remained the same- how could the world not see how much she was hurting? <em>

_"We'll be there soon." One of the two men in the front seats said, turning around to look at the blonde with kind, brown eyes. "Gather your things."_

* * *

><p>"Loki?" Will's voice broke into through her thoughts, and she turned, looking back at the group stood behind her, each one holding a rucksack, and identical worried frowns on their faces. Loki smiled gently.<p>

"Sorry. Just remembering something." The Casterwill walked up to stand beside her, looking out over the hilly countryside, taking her hand.

"What's wrong?" He asked, as Dante and Zhalia padded over. "You've been really quiet all day- and that's saying something! You're usually Miss Chatterbox!"

The azure-eyed girl laughed, but there was something wrong with the sound, something twisted. "I grew up not far from here- Dad's family was from this part of Ireland, and he wanted to be close to our roots."

Will looked away, knowing he had touched on something painful for his friend. "I never knew grass could be so green!" He said at last, trying to lighten the mood. "Talk about the fairytale setting!"

Zhalia shrugged, smirking. "Certainly is rural." She muttered, looked over her shoulder back the way they had come. The airport was several miles in that direction, and the team had walked the whole way. The blue-haired woman wasn't impressed.

Cherit, however, was very impressed, swooping about in the open air with a huge grin on his face. "This far from civilization, I can fly around in the open!" He cried, for what had to be the hundredth time. "It's fantastic!"

Dante grinned at his old friend, glad that someone was enjoying the long walk. "You must have been looking forwards to this, Cherit." He laughed, knowing how the titan hated being cooped up in his bag for plane flights. The little creature nodded, and did a backwards flip in the air.

"Absolutely!" A low rumble filled the air, and Cherit frowned, flying to land on Loki's shoulder, using his wings as an umbrella. "But not as much now its raining, I'm afraid."

Dante sighed, seeing the gathering clouds on the horizon. "We'd better hurry- storm's coming."

Loki smiled, shifting her rucksack higher onto her shoulder. "Don't worry. It's just up ahead."

* * *

><p><em>Vienna, Austria<em>

A trio of long-haired suits gazed about themselves in fear. Following the instructions of their master, they had travelled to the capital of Austria, found the little road, the tiny side-street, and the narrow, twisting alley-way. When they had at last found the door to the house that they had been sent to find, each one hesitated before stepping over the threshold. Many stories had been told about the man who lived here amongst the books and artifacts, the secrets and the lies, the pain and the fear. None of them were nice, and all of them were terrifying.

Sitting in what seemed to be a study, they waited for their host to arrive, avoiding eye-contact with the many skulls that littered the bookshelves around them. "Man, there's something very spooky about this place..." One muttered, finally putting voice to what they were all thinking. His thick accent, Austrian by the sound of it, turned his scared words into something sinister that echoed around the house, lingering in the shadowed corners of the room. The suit wished he could grab his words and shove them back in his mouth, pretend he was brave like the others. A hand on his shoulder, gnarled like tree roots, almost made him scream, his nerves already on edge.

Turning, he found himself face to face with the owner of the house. He was so old that wrinkles made crags of every inch of his evil face. His domed head was bald, save for long, grey, greasy locks that started about half-way down and reached his shoulders. His teeth were rotten and crooked, looking like the peaks of mountains, the bottom of valleys as they protruded out from under his thin, white lips. His nostrils were small, like a snakes, and his eyes were deep-set in his face, peering out from the shadows cast by his bulky temples. One eye was curved around a monocle, the chain attached to the man's waistcoat, but the other gleamed darkly, the dark brown colour seeming more red in the dim lighting of the room.

"Sorry for the wait." He rasped, his accent too naming him as a native Austrian. "I was distilling some rather nasty potion ingredients." Hobbling to the head of the table, he sat, ancient bones creaking like trees in a storm. No one offered to help him, too scared to go near. "I was informed that instructions would come from a certain visitor." The suits didn't answer- they were too terrified to move, let alone speak. With a rattling sigh, the old man got up, walking over to one of his shelves.

He picked up a half-rotten head that was sitting there, the putrid flesh oozing on his hand. Flicking away the remains of an eyeball, he slotted two fingers into the now mainly empty eyesocket. The moment he did, the jaw broke away with a sickening _snap_, landing on the table and disintegrating into a pile of shards and maggots. The suits gasped, cringing away from the monstrous sight, and the monster that had caused it. The house-owner drew his fingers out of the eye-socket, revealing that he had not just done it for fun.

He held out his hand to the suits, and they shied away, the thing resting on his palm more disgusting than its rotten container. It was a scarab beetle made of black and blue metal, its pincers gleaming darkly in the scant light of the study, its ruby eyes glinting with evil purpose. "Say hello to my latest creation. I formed it from a tablet inscribed with the power Breakspell. Of course, seeing as I am not a noble Casterwill, I was denied that power, so I created my own. I call her 'Deadcalm'. Isn't she lovely?" The suits nodded dumbly, staring at the device that the old man cradled with such tender care.

"What does it do?" One suit asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. The grey-haired man smiled, showing pointed teeth.

"I'm so glad you asked." He croaked, curling his hand protectively around the beetle. "It's target seeking. It burrows in and sucks away the ability to use any powers. Even the mighty Dante would be helpless- and the Professor will soon catch that Lambert child when I begin to mass produce them!" He cackled, braking off as the doorbell shrieked through the dank hallways. "Ah, our guest of honor!"

He made his way over to the door, yanking it open eagerly. The man waiting outside turned, revealing his dead-white skin, black eyes, hair and mustache. "I trust I haven't kept you waiting long." His soft, Russian accent drifted on the air, raising the hairs on the backs of the suits' necks.

"Of course not, Rasimov. Come in- we have much to discuss."

* * *

><p>The rain was falling heavily back in Ireland now, but Loki hung back as they neared the last corner before the house, pretending to tie a shoe-lace. She wanted to see their faces, and also wanted a little time to think, something she always did here. Not too far away, her grandmother was buried, along with the grave that the town had made for her father, body or no. She'd have to ditch the team to make her annual visit- she wanted to do that alone, and she didn't want the others knowing either. They'd just pity her.<p>

She stood just as Will turned the corner, where he stopped with shock, looking between the sprawling mansion that lay at the end of the neatly trimmed lawns, and the azure-eyed girl that lived there. Dante just raised an eyebrow before carrying on down the path, getting out of the cold weather and rain feeling more important than commenting on the house.

Zhalia kept on walking, showing no change of emotion, but privately she had thought the blonde more down to earth than this, more grounded, more like her. She'd felt a connection to the girl, but it seemed she was just as rich and stuck up as Will in origins. The blue-haired woman sighed inwardly- it seemed everyone in this world was hiding something. The times when people trusted others were dead- just as she would be if she ever told anyone the truth about her life...

With a cunning smile, Loki padded over to the team, eyes sparking with a light that had missing since they'd touched down in her homeland. "Its a bit grand and flashy for my taste, but seeing as its not me who bought it, I play along." She nudged Will in the side, giggling at his open mouth. "You'll feel right at home, Will. Now, close your mouth before a bug flies in."

The boy shut his mouth with a hasty snap, and Loki led the way down the drive, stopping at the front door, and sighing. "They're not in." She murmured, gesturing to the empty spot on the tarmac. Dipping down to the base of the door, the girl felt her way along the bricks that made the house, three across and one up. Pulling it out with the tips of her fingers, she reached inside and drew out a key. Looking over her shoulder at the incredulous faces of her teammates, the blonde shrugged. "What can I say? They're paranoid."

Zhalia scoffed. "Who wouldn't be with a house of this size and value?"

The blonde tilted her head to one side as she replaced the stone, then stood, smiling. "True, but not many people come out this way. I don't see what all the bother is about. Surely a plant pot would have sufficed?" The team laughed as Loki turned the key in the lock, pocketing it instead of going through all the trouble of putting it back.

The door swung open at the slightest touch, gliding on well-oiled hinges to reveal a warmly lit, expensively decorated hall. A large, oak staircase dominated the other end, leading off to the upstairs, and many doors hinted at a huge interior. "Home, sweet home." The azure-eyed girl muttered under her breath, wishing she was anywhere but.

A loud bang and the thunder of footsteps brought a smile to her lips, however, and a little boy appeared at the top of the staircase. "KI-KI!" He screamed happily, charging down the stairs into Loki's arms.

"Heya Jim-jam." She said into his hair, lifting him up to rest him on her hip with practiced ease. "You've gotten fatter!" She cried, pretending to be shocked. "Have you been raiding the cookie jar again, you bold chiseller?"

The little dark-haired boy giggled, his floppy fringe hiding one similarly coloured eye. "'Course not, Ki-ki! I've just gotten bigger!" He laughed. "I'm five now!" He held up one pudgy hand, and Loki kissed it, smiling.

"How could I forget? You'll be a big man like your Da before long." The two of them laughed as Loki turned around to face her teammates. "Guys, this is Jamie, my little brother. Jamie, these are my friends- Will,"

Will grinned, and gave a little wave. "Heya."

"Zhalia,"

The blue-haired woman shrugged, but Jamie clapped his chubby hands together. "Blue!"

The blonde holding him chuckled. "It's his favorite colour- you just became his new best friend." Zhalia sighed, glaring at the toddler, and stepping back out of reach from those grasping hands. No way was she letting him near her hair!

"And this is Dante." Loki finished, and the russet-haired man nodded once.

"Hi." Jamie grinned, amazed by all these new faces, before suddenly becoming shy and burrowing his face into Loki's neck, peeking out every few seconds before squeaking and hiding again. Loki laughed, then dumped her bag by the door, gesturing for the others to do the same. Cherit flew awkwardly in the shadows, trying not to be noticed, but there aren't a lot of things that can escape the notice of a hyper-active five year old, and the little titan wasn't one of them.

"Kitty!" Jamie called, reaching for Cherit's long tail, laughing and sighing as it flew out of his grasp. Loki bit her lip, looking between the titan and the toddler, before a cunning smile crept across her face.

"You can come out, Cherit. If he tells anyone, they'll just think he's talking about an imaginary friend, or something." Cherit smiled, delighted that he could play with the child- seeing as the titan couldn't have children of his own, he had always seen human children as precious, and something to be treasured. Flying out from the shadows, he perched on Loki's shoulder, across from Jamie, and the boy squealed with happiness, clapping.

The blonde led the way down the hall, showing the team into a large, comfortable living room. "I'll get a fire going- looks like its going to be a cold night." Settling Jamie on an armchair, with Cherit flitting about his head, Loki quickly had a fire roaring in the fireplace, stepping back to watch it for a moment before sitting down on one of the couches next to Will. Dante and Zhalia were sat opposite, casually ignoring the short distance between each other.

Jamie clambered of his chair, rushing over to sit on Loki's knee, snuggling upto her with a giant smile on his little face. Loki smiled. "Where is everyone, Jamie?" She asked, holding him close. "I thought they'd be here!"

The dark-haired lad shook his head. "Ma and Da went out, and Ray was meant to stay, but he had to go to summer class." A disgusted frown crossed Jamie's face. "I hate school." The team laughed, and the girl he sat cuddling ruffled his hair.

"Don't we all, Jim-jam?" Jamie nodded, yawning.

"I'm glad your home, Ki-ki." He murmured, falling asleep. "I missed you." The blonde stroked his hair gently.

"I missed you too, tiger." Will raised an eyebrow, grinning.

"Ki-ki?" He laughed quietly. "Nice nickname."

The azure-eyed girl glared at him from over the top of the sleeping boy's head. "He couldn't pronounce Loki when he was little, and it stuck. I think its sweet."

Zhalia rolled her eyes. "Absolutely. Right up there with candy canes and lollipops." Loki tried to keep her glare in place, but eventually gave in and laughed with the rest of the team. It was funny- when she had left this place, it was so cold and dark to her, and she couldn't wait to get away. But now, with friends and family here, the house seemed much more welcoming. For the first time ever, Loki didn't feel trapped within the massive building. She felt safe.

* * *

><p>But safe she was not, nor was any of the team. Back in Vienna, the meeting between Rasimov and his collage was drawing to a close. "This mission carries a great deal of importance. The Professor thought it best that we contact you in person."<p>

The old man across from his nodded slowly. "Of course." He gave an evil smile. "I have an idea, Mr. Rasimov. There's a young agent, a protege of mine. They're quite adept at infiltration. Its a perfect match, I think." Chilling laughter filled the room as the deal was signed, both sides looking forward to the pain it would cause.

* * *

><p><em>Country road, County Kerry, Ireland<em>

A teen runs down the road, followed by a sedan. The car gets closer at an alarming rate, and with a frustrated cry the boy dives off road, plunging through the trees lining the path. The car's engine growls, almost as if it is angry it has lost its prey. A door opens, and a man climbs out, looking through the darkness before getting back in and driving away. The teen climbs back onto the road with a grin, glad he has fooled his pursuers into thinking he's gone. He walks a bit further till, suddenly, a pair of headlights pierce the night. Before the boy can react, the lights fall upon him.

He prepares to run again.

* * *

><p>The team laughed and chatted as it grew darker, glad for the fire that warmed the room. With the howling wind and pouring rain, Loki really pitied anyone caught in the storm. As lightening flashed, and thunder growled, Jamie woke with a start, blinking with bleary eyes at the team. He yawned, rubbing his eyes, then grinned. "Whatcha talking about?"<p>

Dante smiled at the little boy from where he was sipping a cup of tea that Loki had made earlier. "Loki's been telling us all about your antics." Jamie gave a naughty grin, leaning forwards conspiratorially.

"Bet she hasn't told you about Aiden!" He crowed, before Loki slipped a hand over his mouth.

"That's enough from you, Master Scamp." However, the damage had been done, and both Dante and Zhalia gave the blonde smiles that were part mischievous, part evil, and all trouble.

"Aiden Byrne?" Zhalia purred, her coffee-coloured eyes glinting. Will looked between the grinning adults, not liking how they were smiling.

"Who's Aiden Byrne?" The Casterwill wasn't sure he wanted to know, but the question had to be asked.

Dante put down his cup before answering. "A Huntik Foundation operative. He's good."

Loki sighed. "Before all that, we grew up together. He's a long time friend-"

Jamie's muffled voice came from behind the blonde's hand. "And one time boyfriend!"

"Jamie!" Dante and Zhalia burst out laughing at the horrified look on the girl's face, and the triumphant one on the little boy's, with Will joining in after a moment, trying to hide his shock. Loki had a boyfriend?

The blue-haired woman was the first to stop, smirking at Loki. "You have good taste. He's very handsome." The blonde buried her face in her hands, muttering something about dying of embarrassment. Gold eyes gleaming in the fire light, her mentor couldn't help but add one final dig before dropping the subject.

"Seems Aiden has all the girls under his spell. Might want to get some tips off him, Will." Emerald eyes glowered furiously, but the two older Seekers just shrugged and smiled, waving away the evil, revenge-hungry looks they were getting from their teammates.

Suddenly, a cold draft billowed through the room, and the front door slammed closed, loud voices filling the hall. Loki grinned. "Speak of the devil... Cherit, you may want to hide."

Two boys walked past the door, dripping wet and laughing. The taller one, a handsome boy with black hair and almond shaped eyes, did a double take upon seeing the group in the lounge. With a laugh, Loki stood, setting Jamie down on the floor before sauntering over. The boy gave a crooked smile, slinging an arm around the blonde's shoulders as she got near. Obviously used to it, she just shrugged him off, and the boy slipped an arm around her waist instead. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my globe-trotting little sis'. How's it going, blondie?"

Loki laughed, unwrapping the boy's arm and stepping out of reach, a mocking light dancing in her blue eyes. "Hiya Ray. How's things? Still getting straight A's?"

The teen, Ray, shrugged helplessly. "Yep. I can't help being a certified genius, now can I?"

Another voice came from the hall, and the second boy walked over to lean on the doorframe, arms folded across his chest. His fiery, spiky hair covering one emerald eye, a sarcastic smile flickered across his face, highlighting his almost perfect features. "But you _can _help being a pompous swot." His eyes falling on Loki, standing beside her brother, the smile turned sweet.

"Do my eyes decive me, or has an angel flown over from Venice?" Tossing her hair over her shoulder, the 'angel' snorted, rolling her eyes.

"How many times do I need to tell you to go to the opticians before you listen, fire-top?" The redhead padded over, grinning.

"At least one more time, blondie. It's good to see you. I thought you weren't gonna show!"

Walking back to the warmth of the fire, Loki laughed, flopping down next to Will. "And miss your charming company, Aiden? 'Course not! Now, come and meet my friends, both of you!" The newcomers rolled their eyes, but obeyed none the less, with Ray sitting on the remaining seat in a plushy armchair, leaving Aiden to sit on the floor by Loki's feet with a good-natured sigh. When he tried to lean against the blonde's legs, she gave him a light kick before tucking her legs up on the couch. Will smiled- it was obvious that the redhead had been chasing after Loki for a while now, and was getting nowhere fast.

"The tall one is Dante, the sulky one is Zhalia, and this is Will." She placed a hand on the Casterwill's arm for a moment before grinning at Ray. "Don't even try it."

The dark-haired boy raised an eyebrow, an innocent look on his face as he tried to stop his little brother pulling his hair. "What? I didn't do anything?"

Loki grinned. "Not yet anyway. Mess with Zhalia, and she'll break your legs."

Ray pulled a wounded face. "Do you think so little of me?"

Seeing the curious looks on her teammates' faces, the blonde explained. "Ray thinks he is such a player- according to him, Raymundo here's gone out with every girl at school!" Dark eyes filled with mock pain, Ray placed a hand on his chest, above his heart.

"That hurts. That really hurts. I'll have you know I've been in a steady relationship all term!" Loki just raised an eyebrow, and he grinned at her. "In fact, I've got to go call her right now."

The blonde huffed, rolling her azure eyes. "Let me know when you decide to come out of your imaginary world. And take Jamie with you- its way past his bedtime." Both boys groaned with disappointment before trudging up the stairs. Aiden got up and padded over to the now empty seat, stretching out in it with a sigh.

Dante smiled, looking at the ginger. "So, Aiden. You're on a mission for the Foundation?"

The boy froze before a grin spread across his face. "My dear, sweet mot, please tell me you haven't got mixed up with us bad Foundation folk?"

Loki sighed. "Two things. One, I am not your mot, and two, these guys have helped me out of more trouble than you've had fish and chips."

Aiden's jade eyes narrowed, and he looked between the team for a moment before laughing. "I get it now. You're Dante Vale, aren't ya?"

Dante nodded. "That's right. We met last year in Venice, didn't we?"

The lad grinned. "That we did. So that must mean that these fine people are Zhalia Moon..." He trailed off before sighing. "I forgot to bow, didn't I? You must be the Casterwill boy I've been hearing about. Folk said you'd joined a team."

Will grinned. "I didn't know word travelled so fast."

Aiden shrugged. "What Seeker doesn't know the name Casterwill? So, who's the lucky team? The British division?"

While the teens laughed at Aiden's puzzled face, Dante coughed lightly, getting the boy's attention. "Actually, Loki, Zhalia and Will here are my team." The Irish lad gave the russet-haired man a wicked grin.

"A team, huh? That's just what I could use right now!"

Loki sighed. "And why is that?" She asked, voice dry and bored.

Aiden smiled. "Have you ever heard of the Newgrange Passage Tomb?" The blonde sighed again.

"Course we've all heard of it. It's a hotbed of Irish myth and legend, not to mention an ancient burial ground. Why so interested in it now?"

Dante raised an eyebrow- the teen's accent was back. The auburn had actually expected it to make an appearance earlier, but it seemed that neither Jamie or Ray had the brogue.

In the meantime, the redhead had turned to face the team, his elbows on his thighs, chin on his palms. "Apparently, it's the hiding spot of a powerful titan, and one that someone doesn't want me to find. I was followed on the road earlier, before Ray drove by and gave me a lift here. Listen, I know you're all on a break..."

Will frowned. "That's right. We are."

Aiden shrugged, and made to speak, but a sharp scream, high and young, sounded out through the house. Loki stood, azure eyes hard and cold. "The storm probably scared Jamie." She disappeared up the stairs, leaving the team in the lounge.

They looked after her for a moment before Dante turned to the ginger, gold eyes grave. "Do you think the Organization could have followed you back here?" The lad shook his head, emerald eyes serious.

"It is likely, but I put wards around the house after Loki went to Venice. I knew she'd never forgive me if anything happened to the kid. If someone broke the wards, I'd know about it."

Will stared up the stairs. "I wonder if everything's okay." The team waited for Loki to come back down, with Aiden glaring at what he now knew to be a love-rival for Loki's affections.

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Loki had dashed up the stairs, knowing full well what had happened, something she had tried to prevent so many times. This was the reason she had left, but also why she had wanted to stay. She burst into Jamie's room, and the what was there made her clench her hands into fists.<p>

Ray stood, towering over his brother, smiling at the bruises now littering the boy's body.

Loki felt herself go cold, and knew that this had been happening from the day she had left. After all, without his favorite punching bag, who else was Ray going to beat up when he got bored? "Lay off him, you pig." Was that really her speaking with that glacial cold voice?

"And why would I do that, doxie? We're just having some fun, aren't we, you little twerp?"

Jamie scuttled away from his brother, hiding behind Loki. "He hit me, Ki-ki."

"I thought so. You're a dosser, Ray, thinking it a lark to go clattering a little 'un." Ray padded towards her, grinning.

"And you think you can stop me?"

Loki shook her head. "No. I _know _I can. Come near either of us again, and I'll make you wish you hadn't!"

Ray kept coming closer, forcing the blonde into a corner with Jamie cowering behind her. "You really think you're tough enough to be milling with me, Loki? Don't you remember the fun we used to have?" He reached for her cheek, and she slapped his hand away.

"Jamie, as soon as I say go, run, okay?" The blonde whispered. The boy nodded, trembling, and she took his hand. "Go!" The boy legged it from the room, not realizing that Loki had stayed behind. Ray smiled.

"Now I have my old friend back. How kind of you, Loki."

"Don't get excited just yet, Ray." The furious girl warned. "I won't take it lying down anymore. This time, I'm fighting back."

The dark-eyed teen laughed. "Oh, I'm so scared. A little girl thinks she can take me on? Just try it, blondie."

"Fine."

Ray made a lazy punch in her direction, and she grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back, forcing him to turn before kicking his legs out from under him. He snarled, rage changing his handsome face into something ugly, and span, aiming a fist at her face. Loki danced out of the way and jabbed his side, sending the air wooshing out of his lungs.

Ray collapsed, gasping for breath, not two seconds after the fight began. "How did you...? When did you...?"

Loki turned to walk away. "Karate lessons since age five. Living with three masters of martial arts and training with them everyday. You're lucky I have more self-control than you." She disappeared back downstairs, straightening her hair and clothes as she went, leaving her foster brother to stare after her, wondering how on earth he had managed to beat her up for all those years.

* * *

><p>Back downstairs, Dante was wondering about something that had been preying on his mind since they had arrived at the house. Finally deciding to voice his thoughts, he turned to the ginger sprawled across the armchair. "Aiden, has Loki's mother remarried? Those kids don't look a bit like Eathon."<p>

The redhead looked at them in surprise, twisting on the chair to see them all better. "You mean you don't know?"

Will sighed. "Obviously not if I have to ask what it is we don't know."

Emerald eyes met, each one narrowed. "Loki doesn't know _who _her mother is. She was raised by Eathon and her grandmother. When he disappeared, it was her grandmother who looked after her, but she died not long after. These guys are her foster family."

"What?" Dante cried, eyes round with shock, his expression mirrored on everyone's faces. "She never said..."

Aiden nodded, eyes filled with sadness. "She doesn't mention it. I only know 'coz I knew her before she came here. After three years of being bullied here in Ireland, I'm not surprised she wanted a fresh start in Italy."

Will stared down at his hands. "But, we're her team. Why wouldn't she tell us?"

Loki appeared at the doorway, and paused there, seeing the looks on her teammates' faces. "Aiden, what have you done?" She asked, voice barely more than a whisper. He looked at her, trying to hide the satisfaction that came from driving a wedge between her and the Casterwill boy.

"They deserve to know the truth."

Azure eyes bore into smug jade, and the blonde pointed to the door. "Get out. It was my place to tell them, not yours." Aiden shrugged, getting up with a luxurious stretch.

"It was about time I was going anyway. Will I see you tomorrow, Loki?"

The girl looked away, a tear glistening on her cheek. "Don't count on it, Byrne. I don't think I can ever forgive you for this." The boy shrugged again.

"You'll come around." He murmured as he passed, his voice soft, reaching her ears only. "You know you can't resist me."

Loki followed him down the hall, opening the door for him. "I won't come around. I've found something good in these people, in Will. I won't let you play your games with him. Now, goodbye." She slammed the door in his cheeky face, hesitating before walking back to the lounge.

"Guys...I'm so sorry." She said brokenly, looking down at her feet. "I..I should have told you sooner..." She wiped away the tears that sprang to her eyes, waiting for the yelling to start. She was shocked when arms wrapped around her, drawing her close. It was Dante.

Without saying anything at all, he had said everything that needed saying. Will sighed, walking over to the blonde. "It's okay, Loki. " Loki shook her head.

"I should have told you!"

Zhalia raised an eyebrow, getting up and padding over. "Saying that you don't know who your parents are isn't really something people like to admit. You wouldn't have told us when we were strangers to you, and I'm guessing it slipped your mind by the time we were friends, am I right?"

Loki nodded, looking at the blue-haired woman with confusion. "Yes, you are. That's surprisingly understanding of you, Zhalia."

The older woman shrugged. "Everyone has their private secrets. This one was yours. It's just a shame that jerk blurted it out. If I didn't know better, I'd say he enjoyed telling us."

The blonde scoffed, glaring down the hall to where the ginger had gone. "You know what, Zhalia, I think you might be right again. I don't know what I ever saw in that guy."

Dante smiled gently. "So, are we going to help him tomorrow? This is your call, Loki."

The azure-eyed girl thought for a moment. "I'm not going to let personal dislike get in the way of stopping the Organization. If they get that titan because Aiden is too much of an idiot to find it first, then I'd never forgive myself."

The auburn nodded. "Then we'll help. But for now, I think its time to go to bed." Loki smiled back at her mentor.

"Always so sensible, Dante. But, I think you may be right. Come on, I'll show you to your rooms."

* * *

><p>Later that night, Zhalia stared out of the window in her room, thinking about what she had learnt that day. Dante and Will had been so understanding of Loki's secret. How would they act if they ever learnt her's? And the secret itself...Zhalia understood now why she had felt that connection to the blonde. They had both lost their parents, had both been alone without a friend in the world, had lost every-<p>

A ringing filled the room, and the blue-haired woman jumped, hugging herself, and looking at the suitcase she knew the noise was coming from with horror. "It can't be..." Taking three quick strides across the room, she yanked open the case, unlocked the secret compartment, and drew out the buzzing phone that lay within.

"Zhalia, my dear." The voice was old, and Austrian, and creepy, the words echoing around whatever room the speaker was in. "I hope I'm not calling too late."

"Of course not. What is it?" Zhalia wanted to get this over and done with. This man was never known for good news.

"Surprise, surprise!" The caller chorused. "I have a secret mission for you." Cold laughter drifted down the line, and the blue-haired listener felt a shiver run down her spine. After all this time, just when she thought she was finally free, but that voice...

She would never be free of it, no matter how many phones she threw away, no matter how many times she changed her name, no matter how many hair cuts and dyes she used...

He would always find her.

* * *

><p>AN: Surprise! Did anyone suspect any of that?<p>

And the best is yet to come, dear readers. I have far worse things planned for our bold heroes in the next chapters!


	39. Chapter 38 Home Turf Part 2

AN: I am so incrediblely sorry that it has taken this long to get this chapter up and running!

Hopefully, the wait will have been worth it ;)

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 38- Home Turf Part 2

The next morning dawned bright and warm, sunlight breaking through the fog that drifted over the Irish countryside. The team woke with the rising sun, dressing quickly and quietly before meeting at the front door. Loki scrawled a short note to her foster parents in her tiny, neat writing, explaining that they were going out for the day, and that she would introduce them to her housemates that evening. When Dante asked the blonde if they would mind, the teen just shrugged.

"They've never cared much about me." She said softly, kneeling to tie the laces of her trainers. She kept her eyes on her shoes, feeling too scared to meet her friend's eyes, thinking he would be ashamed of her. "I don't see why I should care about them."

With a mental sigh, and a shrug of his own, Dante let the matter drop, knowing the wound that that subject had made in his young charge's mind was still raw. Grabbing his trenchcoat from where it was hanging on a hook by the door, the auburn opened his mouth to say something to his teammates when he was interrupted by a loud car horn. It blasted through the peaceful quiet of the early morning, startling the birds that lined the trees outside.

Loki immediately tensed, fearing both what was outside the house and inside, but when all remained silent upstairs, she sighed and relaxed. A little.

Trying in vain to quell the fear and anger that rose inside her, the blonde strode past Dante to yank over the door and stalk across the drive to the large, silver Landrover that was pulled up outside the house. The team followed with apprehension, guessing who the car belonged to from the attitude of its driver, and their teammate's reaction to it. Aiden had arrived, obviously expecting the team to help him even after his actions last night. Loki hadn't called him to tell him they were going, so the ginger didn't know that they were willing to help- the last thing the boy had seen of the team was the azure-eyed girl shoving him out of the door, her eyes filled with tears of anger and betrayal.

And yet, here he was, lounging in the driver's seat, his slanted, green eyes gleaming like a cat's, a lazy grin tilting up the corners of his mouth. "Hurry up." Aiden called, preparing the honk the horn again. "We've got a lot to do today." When he saw Loki, the smug smile on his face grew, and he patted the seat next to him. She merely glared in return and yanked open the door to the back seat, sitting as far away from him as possible. The red-head frowned, his emerald eyes flickering between the blonde and the boy now sitting next to her, before turning to Dante, who was gazing at him with narrowed eyes, their golden colour darkened to amber with suspicion.

"Do you have a license?" He asked, hiding his feelings behind a more innocent question than the one that was floating around his mind. The auburn had seen the way the ginger was staring at Will, and was wary of the murderous rage that had flickered in his eyes. "I'd rather not break the law in a country where I don't speak the language."

Aiden laughed. "Relax. I'm seventeen, and I passed the test a few months ago- on my first try too." His eyes darted to where Loki was lounging in the back seat, looking out the window with a bored expression, before clouding with frustration and anger. The boy's attempts to regain the blonde's favor were failing... miserably. "Better get comfortable though." The boy went one, pushing the dark emotions that lingered in his mind from his all too open face. "Its a long and bumpy ride!"

The frosty mood in the car didn't thaw the entire journey. Aiden kept most of his conversation for the azure-eyed girl in the back seat- only problem was, she didn't talk back, instead pointedly staring out the window, completely blanking him. The anger kept flooding his eyes before being swiped away and hidden, but often not before Dante caught a glimpse of it. Cherit, who still hadn't been introduced to the ginger, also saw the hate-filled gaze directed at both the blonde and the brunette whenever he poked his head out of Loki's bag.

* * *

><p>Finally, the team arrived at the tomb, stepping out of the car, feeling both relieved and awestruck. The large mound stretched as far as the eye could see, and towered high above their heads. The stone walls were rugged and worn, and the domed top to the tomb was covered in a layer of grass and earth, so it blended in with the Irish landscape. It was truly an amazing site, and one that was obviously held close to the heart of the locals of this fair, green land.<p>

"This is it." Loki murmured, the first thing she had said all day. "Newgrange Passage Tomb, one of the oldest burial mounds in the world." She waved a hand, lifting it to the sky to encompass the entire tomb. Will smiled, glad that his friend's bad mood was lifting, and stretched his arms above his head to get rid of the stiffness from his arms and back.

"How old?" He asked, emerald eyes gleaming. Although the dark-haired boy already knew the answer, he loved the way that the blonde's eyes lit up when she talked about her homeland- Ireland was a part of her, and its history ran deep in her veins and bones.

Unfortunately, as Loki opened her mouth to answer, another voice rang out behind the pair. "3500 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids." Aiden strode over, tucking the car keys into his back pocket, grinning, a most unwelcome interruption. "Now, come on!" He grabbed Loki's hand, and she stiffened before tugging it from his grasp, taking a few quick steps back out of reach. The redhead scowled for a moment before smiling again, a self-satisfied smirk spreading across his face. "It gets better inside."

Dante picked the lock across the great, oak doors before heaving one open for the team to pass through. After waving the teens and the ginger over the threshold, the gold-eyed man half-turned to look at the dark-haired Seeker behind him, her mocha orbs lost deep in thought, her attention obviously elsewhere. "Zhalia?" He called softly, and she jumped, fear filling her eyes for one sudden moment before the blue-haired woman hid it swiftly behind a cold, emotionless facade.

"Yeah?" She asked, padding over, her fingers fiddling with the pouch on her thigh, brushing against the amulets within for comfort. The auburn facing her frowned, worried.

"Is everything alright?"

Zhalia shook her head, tossing her sapphire-coloured hair over her shoulder. "It's nothing." she muttered, walking past him. "I'm fine."

Dante looked after her for a moment before following, unconvinced. This wasn't at all like the calm, independent, brave woman he had got to know over the past three months- hidden behind the mask, Zhalia was scared, seeing monsters in the shadows, hearing screams on the whistling wind. Something had spooked her...something bad, something big, and something she wasn't telling _him _about.

And for some strange reason... that _hurt_, knowing she was in pain and afraid and she didn't trust him enough to tell him what was wrong.

* * *

><p>The team walked in silence, gazing in wonder at the myriad of strange carvings and symbols that lined the walls of the twisting, rocky tunnels within the tomb. As they wandered further and further from the entrance, the corridors of stone grew darker, till Dante had to call forth a Boltflare to guide the way. Will sighed, and turned unwillingly to face Aiden. "So where exactly is this titan supposed to be hidden?" The boys stared each other down for a moment before the ginger answered.<p>

"There's a secret chamber." The Irish lad grinned, a fierce glow lighting up his emerald eyes, mischief and cunning swirling in their depths. "All we have to do is find it!"

The brunette next to him rolled his eyes. "Oh, that makes everything _so _much clearer. I don't know what we would have done without you."

Dante padded past them, shooting a look at Will, silently telling him to hold his tongue. The Casterwill bowed his head in an imperceptible nod, before walking after him.

Will smiled softly, his fingers brushing something in his pocket, and hurried over to where Loki was tracing a carving on the wall.

"Hey, Loki." She turned to him, azure eyes filled with curiosity.

"What is it, Will?" The blonde asked quietly. "You see something?" She stepped back to look at the entire wall, wondering if there was something she had missed. The boy beside her shook his head, holding back laughter at the way his friend was already so engrossed in the puzzle this whole tomb presented.

"No." He managed to say, pushing the laughter away for the moment. "I just wanted to say Happy Birthday!" Will grinned, secretly wishing he had remembered to bring her present with him, slipping his hand into hers, and the girl laughed, smiling properly for the first time since Aiden had honked the horn outside her house.

"Thanks for remembering." She whispered, squeezing his hand. "I completely forgot after everything that happened yesterday!" With a sigh, her blue eyes filled with sadness, Loki squeezed his hand again before letting go and walking further down the corridor.

"Let's take a look over here." Their russet-haired mentor called over his shoulder, and the team followed him eagerly- the sooner this mission was over, the sooner they could say goodbye to Aiden. The ginger was stood at the back of the group, smiling as an idea lit up his emerald orbs with malicious glee.

"Spend all the time you want with her, Casterwill." He warned Will, although the boy had walked out of earshot minutes before. "Loki was mine." Emerald eyes narrowed into slits. "And she will be again."

* * *

><p>And far behind them, at the closed doors to the tunnels that made up the tomb, a blue power blasted the lock into useless pieces, and a gloved hand slid the door open soundlessly, ready to follow the Huntik team into the darkness.<p>

* * *

><p>The team made their way into the area Dante had pointed out, a large, circular chamber, its roof supported by a single stone pillar. Sarcophagi ringed its base, depicting kings and lords of ages past. Loki walked up to the nearest one, her delicate fingers tracing the features of the face that lay there. These people were part of her history, her country's past, and yet no one knew who they were, or what they had done to deserve being buried in such a magnificent place. She sighed, wondering if her own death would be as uneventful, the memory of her life and achievements so fleeting.<p>

Will padded past her, his eyes, and the eyes of his auburn mentor, drawn to a staircase at the back of the room. "Loki, Zhalia, Dante." He called, reaching the top of the stone-hewn steps, looking down into the darkness beyond. "Come take a look at this." Aiden skulked after the others, angry that the brunette had forgotten him, and fallen back into the familiar rhythm of the other missions he had been on with his teammates. He reached the team at the same time as Loki, and shot her a winning smile that was not returned, only serving to sour his mood further.

His dark, mossy eyes scouring the cave-like hollow at the bottom of the stairs, he frowned. "That lower area...Maybe there's meant to be a special sarcophagus down there." The ginger mused, stroking his chin. A high, grating voice sounded out in the silence that followed.

"Wait a moment, lad. That back wall is the only place of the tomb without any carvings." Cherit crawled out of Loki's bag to perch on her shoulder, having woken up after going to sleep during the car trip. He yawned, showing his sharp, little fangs and claws, his wings casting twisting shadows on the wall as he did so. Aiden jumped, stunned.

"What the-?" Loki laughed, looking at his face, then turned to look at the titan.

"Cherit, I don't believe you've been introduced to our resident jerk. This is Aiden."

The redhead was still having difficulty coming to terms with the newcomer. "It can talk!" He gasped, pointing at the white creature now flapping by the blonde's head, earning a glare from azure orbs.

"Cherit is a he, not an it!" She snapped, her patience worn thin by Aiden's presence alone, his stupid comments not helping matters. "And besides, that's not part of the tomb, its much older. And its not a wall- its a door." Dante, who had already worked this out, grinned at his blonde student, whilst Will's emerald eyes widened in surprise.

"Even with what I know as a Seeker, its hard to believe." Loki grinned at him, her eyes sparking with excitement.

"Didn't you used to tell me that all the stories were real, Will?" The boy sighed, bowing his head to her before meeting her inquisitive gaze.

"Yeah, but still- a whole new section to the Newgrange Passage Tomb! Who'd have thought it possible?" He laughed softly at the blonde's knowing smile. "I guess you and Aiden did, huh?"

The cobalt-eyed teen nodded slowly, not liking any sentence when her name and the ginger's were put together. "In the local legends, many famous battles were fought here. Since I became a Seeker, I've always wondered if they were true." She grinned, all seriousness gone. "And now I can found out!"

Dante laughed quietly, shaking his head. "Well, come on then." The auburn smiled, leading the way down the stairs to the sealed door. Zhalia let Aiden pass her, glaring suspiciously at the back of the redhead's head before stealing back up the steps to the pillar in the middle of the chamber.

As the blue-haired Seeker reached the sarcophagus that Loki had traced on earlier, she noticed something shining on the pommel of the sword that the dead man's likeness clasped within his stone hands. Remembering her caller's words from the night before, she picked it up with delicate revulsion, tucking it into her thigh-pouch without saying a word.

* * *

><p><em>"I'm sending you my latest creation. It called a Deadcalm. Use it on Dante Vale to drain him of all his magic. Without it he will be helpless, and then you can finish him at your leisure."<em>

* * *

><p>Smoothing the worry and fear off her face, Zhalia padded quietly down the stairs to join her teammates, who had gathered around the door. Loki and Aiden were scouring the Celtic symbols that lined it, trying to recognize any of them as Gaelic words or instructions on how to open the door. Will frowned, stepping closer and placing his hand on the cold stone that blocked their path.<p>

"I can sense a great magical energy coming from behind the rock- it's got to be here!" The brunette called over his shoulder, the pupil of his eyes showing a light that only he could see. Aiden shot the girl beside him a grin.

"You were right, Loki!" She ignored him completely, knowing she would lose what little control she had over her riled temper if she answered him again. Instead she stood and backed away, something bugging her.

The symbols all seemed to be pointing to the same thing, saying the same thing over and over, but in a language that had long since died on the tongues of men. She could find the recurring pattern with ease, and stepped closer to the nearest one, reaching to trace the design etched into the stone. "Something catch your eye, lass?" Cherit croaked, flapping closer with curiosity lighting up his grey eyes. Loki didn't turn, her narrowed eyes following the swirling marks that marred the rocky walls instead.

"Maybe..." Standing on her tiptoes, the blonde stretched as tall as she could go to reach a couple of carvings above her head. As she touched them, she thought she remembered seeing something like them before. One was a fox leaping over a Celtic knot, its pelt scattered in stars that seemed to shine with an ethereal light. The other was another fox, made of swirling Celtic patterns, with wings adorning its back, sweeping upwards in long, beautiful strokes. Both seemed familiar to the blonde, but she couldn't say where from...

* * *

><p>Behind them all, Dante stiffened, half-turning to look over his shoulder, gold eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the light of the Boltflare. He'd heard the rattle of pebbles and loose stones across the rocky floor, brushed by a foot as someone, or something, passed by. The shadows writhed, forming the shapes of many men, and the auburn called back towards his teammates, to warn the one closest to the figures of the approaching danger. "Loki!"<p>

The girl turned at her mentor's cry, so slowly it seemed to the russet-haired Seeker, as a hand lit up with icy, blue light, the power aimed at its helpless target. In the split second that followed, the suit shot a stream of deadly cold across the chamber, headed for Loki before she could even react.

At the last moment, the blonde was pushed out of the way, and another took the hit. The azure-eyed teen cried out as Dante hit the wall she had been studying but a moment before, eyes wide as he dropped to the floor, teeth gritted against the pain, an arm wrapped around his stomach.

"Dante!" Leaping to her feet, she ran to where her friend lay, kneeling beside him before helping him to his feet. "Are you okay?" Aiden and Will dashed over to their teammates, eyes narrowed and hands clenched into fists at the thought of anyone hurting Loki.

The amber-orbed man smiled shakily at her, pushing away his pain to hide it from the girl gazing anxiously up at him as she held his arm. "I'll live." He reassured her, putting as much for his usual sarcasm and dry humor into his voice as he could. Relief blossomed in the Lambert's eyes, and she let go of her mentor's in order to spin and glare at the newcomers, flashes of blue and grey rippling down her arms and along her hair.

"They won't." She muttered, fingernails digging into her palms as she fought to control the power raging inside her. Aiden eyed her with wondrous amazement, only just beginning to realize the powers a Seeker truly possessed- having only joined the Foundation a year ago, the ginger was yet to be issued an amulet, and thus gain his Seeker abilities, instead working on discovering new titans for the Foundation to use.

"The Organization.." He breathed, almost taking backing away from this fearful adversary, holding his ground through pure force of will, and though reminding himself that he had to beat Will at everything.

Sharing a look with Zhalia, Dante nodded before powering through the air on a wave of blue light. "Hyperstride!" The woman with midnight tresses behind him soon followed his example. To any who knew the auburn, his skidded landing stopped only by the wall showed just how hard that Augerfrost had hurt. Luckily, the suits didn't know Dante, and the trio of short-haired, long coated, blue-tinted glasses wearing men didn't notice any weakness on their enemies' part.

Instead, they began to shoot more powers down and up the stairs, alternating between striking at the teens and the adults. At the base of the steps, Loki was trying to figure out a battle plan, but having to constantly dodge and dive out of the way of attacks was limiting how much thought she could put into finding a way to beat their opponents. Seeing Aiden cowering bravely in full sight and aim of the suits, she sighed, and moved to stand in front of him. "You'd better stand behind me." The blonde warned, knowing about his lack of powers- for all it hadn't affected his lack of ego.

Will narrowed his eyes, running at the suits before skidding to a halt just in time to throw up an Honorguard. Seeing the azure-eyed girl just behind him, he grinned. "And you better stand behind me." He joked, emerald eyes glinting, even in a situation as serious as this.

* * *

><p>At the top of the stairs, Dante had grown tired of being herded around like a particularly stubborn sheep, and reached into his trenchcoat to draw out the amulet of his favourite titan. "Caliban!" The Seeker called, summoning the Aztec warrior from the depths of his resting place.<p>

The suits backed away, the two nearest the back peeling away to attack the teens, leaving the final suit to fight the adults. Although two of the Foundation's best Seekers were against him, he didn't look worried, instead reaching into his jacket with a cruel smile on his face. He pulled out an amulet with a crimson jewel at its center, surrounded by gold fins.

"Bonelasher!" The suit called, and in a burst of blood-red light, the titan appeared. It was humanoid, barely, with arms bulging with muscles, and a six-pack on its stomach. Its skin and hair was green, its eyes red, and all it was wearing was a purple loincloth, leaf-shaped shoulder-shields, and dark wrist- and arm-bands. When it opened it's mouth, a long, green tongue slithered over sharp and pointed teeth, revealing why its jaw was so misshapen, and a collar of fin-like webbing surrounded its head. Scratching at the walls with its hands, the fingers of which ended in large, jagged claws, Bonelasher howled its fury to the covered sky as long, writhing tentacles erupting from its arms and thighs.

The titan smashed Caliban in the jaw with one giant fist, snapping his head back, laughing in a throaty chuckle. The Aztec's fire-eyes narrowed before he grabbed the hand that had hit him, jumping up and over Bonelasher's head, making the creature cry out in agony as its arm was wrenched out of place. A grim smile brightening his fire-eyes, the warrior drew back his fist and punched straight through the muscular stomach of his enemy.

As the ruby light dispersed into shining fragments on the stagnant air of the tomb, Dante raced towards the dazed owner of the Bonelasher, launching a spinning kick at his jaw and sending him tumbling into a wall. The suit shook his head as the russet-haired Seeker ran at him again, calling on the last remains of his power to bring purple electricity to one hand, muttering the spell under his breath. Waiting till the Huntik operative was too close to do anything about it, the suit swung his hand towards the auburn's head, and the power nestled in his palm forced the man to his knees with a pained shout.

"What's the matter, Vale?" The suit jeered, snarling at the helpless Seeker by his feet. "That Hyperstride take something out of you?" Zhalia backed away, her coffee-coloured eyes wide with horror, though a trace of cold-heartedness remained, her hidden loyalty to the Organization making her reluctant to interfere. It wasn't like before, when they were just any old suits- these were his suits, and they'd report back to him if she even considered stepping out of line. She was trapped as surely as Dante was- but a quick death wasn't the worst thing that could happen to her if she tried to fight back.

* * *

><p>At the bottom of the steps, the teens were quick to face their own opponents, with Loki unwillingly protecting the powerless Aiden, warding off the enemies she was unable to chase with Boltflares and the occassional flash of blue-grey magic. The ginger behind her watched it all with wide eyes- this was his first encounter with the Organization, and they were just as evil and ruthless as the rumors had suggested, and the immense power and strength of what he had previously thought of as a rather weak, but beautiful, girl shocked him into silence.<p>

A suit pulled an amulet from his pocket, eyes flashing with hate behind his glasses, summoning the titan within to come forth and destroy his enemies. "Enforcer!" A dirty, reddish-brown colour engulfed the pendant and its Seeker before a glob of mud flowed from the amulet in a sickening river of darkness. Three red eyes gleamed at its center, spinning gently in a triangle formation. Suddenly, a pair of insectile wings broke free of the muck, and the mud shifted to form a cone-shaped body, with many arms protruding from under the wings like writhing snakes, each one tipped with an axe-like blade.

With a noise akin to the whirring of gears, the Enforcer shot a beam of pure, white light from its top-most eye, something at odds with the disgusting, vile appearance of the creature. Aiden yelled a warning to the blonde it was aimed at, and she dived out of the way just in time, leaving the light to hit the wall instead- the dust cloud that followed revealing the beam of light to be as deadly as any Seeker power.

Will turned, jade eyes wide and filled with worry, before his hands clenched into almost involuntary fists. "Hold on, Loki!" He called, but before he could take a single step, the third suit leapt to block his path. He towered above the Casterwill, grinning like this battle was a fun game that he knew he would win, a look that aggravated the brunette's pride. The two men snarled at each other, neither willing to back down.

And as Aiden and Loki backed away from the bug-like titan chasing them, Enforcer's eye began to glow again, blasting the azure-eyed teen before either of them could react. The redhead now standing alone before the titan turned, the blonde's name on his lips, fearing the worst. He sighed when she stirred, wincing as she pushed herself up onto her knees.

His relief vanished when he felt the gust of wings on the back of his neck, and he span to face the Enforcer, staring into its crimson orbs with horror, feeling his heart freeze as the topmost eye began to glow for the third time.

Blinking blearily, a hand to her head, the azure-orbed teen behind him couldn't understand what was going on, before terror struck her almost as hard as the beam of painful light, and she flung out a hand as if to reach for Aiden. "Cherit! Help him!" The little titan leapt into the air from where he was crouched by her head, speeding towards his bug-like enemy like a white, furry bullet.

"That's no way to treat a lady!" He shouted, landing a top the titan's bulbous head, taking in a deep breath as he did so. Eye glinting with anger, the winged creature let loose his powerful, multi-coloured beam straight into the creature's brain, frying it instantly. Eyes rolling wildly in their sockets, the Enforcer flew into a wall, smashing against it like a bug on a windscreen before disappearing into a stream of muddy brown light.

"Nasty thing!" Cherit cried, shaking one tiny fist, a yawn half-way through his victory cry ruining the effect, before he sagged, his energy drained from using his magic.

* * *

><p>The long-haired suit facing off against Will decided to end their stare-off, and shot a Raypulse at the brunette, who ducked before using the wall to propel himself up and over his opponent. "Now, Sabriel!" He called, lifting the horned amulet that belonged to the pink-haired titan as he landed atop a large, flat stone to one side of the room.<p>

Sabriel appeared with a sound like clashing steel, and a flash like sunlight on a blade. Charging the suit, she destroyed the Augerfrost building in his hand with a slash of her sword, then rammed him with her shoulder, knocking him to the floor, and knocking him out to boot.

As Will dashed across to check that the suit was indeed out of the fight, a flash of purple light caught his eye, and drew his gaze to the top of the stairs, and to the immobilized Dante.

And the motionless Zhalia that was watching it all... and doing nothing. "What is wrong with you?" Will yelled at her, already thinking he had the answer. Sabriel darted to the boy's side, and he sent her onwards up the stairs with a wave of his hand. "Help him!"

The titan disposed of the suit with a few quick strokes of her sword, and Dante sighed with barely repressed relief and pain, before muttering Everfight under his breath, allowing the fiery healing power to help him to his feet. Though he was now physically fine, the fact that he had been beaten, been powerless and weak, at the mercy of his enemy, had shaken him more than he'd like to admit. The russet-haired man wasn't used to losing, and doing so to that suit, and in such a spectacular fashion, had hurt more than his pride.

The sole remaining suit at the bottom of the stairs thought to go for what he thought of as the weakest targets- a girl, and a non-Seeker. He landed on a flat-topped boulder next to where the pair were crouched beside Cherit, startling the teens. Aiden automatically stepped in front Loki, green eyes narrowed with determination, but the blonde sighed, resting the exhausted titan on her shoulder before reaching out one hand.

Blue-grey power coiled there in a malignant ball of anger, then flashed, lashing out like a whip made of glowing light, striking the suit in the chest and knocking him off the rock he was perched so happily atop. Loki gave a grim smile of satisfaction, then realized that the shining colours gathering around the suit's body meant he's had time to summon the amulet that now tumbled from his limp fingers. A Redcap.

The long-haired, long-clawed titan appeared in a burst of ruby light, shrieking and slashing wildly around itself in anger, taking a chunk out of the rock beside the pair as they backed away, eyes wide. Its azure-eyed target gave a low growl, blue and grey swirling through her hair and lighting up her eyes, bubbling under her skin with all the fury of a trapped storm.

"I've _had _it!" She yelled, reaching into her pocket, and drawing out the amulet belonging to her newest addition. "Come to me, Lindorm!" The bear-dragon, tightly coiled so he would fit in the confined spaces of the tomb, snarled, smelling the fear and anger that drifted on the stagnant air. It brought back memories that he had promised to suppress, ones of ancient battle fields, and the titan had to concentrate to stop himself from attacking a defenseless enemy near by- Loki's scent, drifting on the wind that his tail had whipped up as he lashed it back and forth in excitement, stopped him, reminded him of his vow, and of the long imprisonment that would follow if he broke it.

So instead, Lindorm used his tail like a whip, striking out with a sound like lightening crackling across the sky. The Redcap dodged, narrowly, a lock of its long, greasy hair getting sliced off in the process. Howling in pain, and what would have passed for embarrassment in a more humane creature, the titan rushed its opponent, who grinned, revealing gleaming fangs. A challenge? How fun.

He rolled out of the way at the last moment, leaving the Redcap to smash headfirst into the wall, before swinging at it with one massive paw. Standing behind him, trying to stay out of the way of the giant creature, his Seeker noticed the suit she had knocked out earlier stirring. She turned to Aiden, who stepped back, almost afraid of the glowing, burning-eyed warrior standing before him. Her mouth set with anger and determination, the blonde pointed to the area by the secret door. "Get behind the sarcophagus, and stay down!" Loki ordered, and the ginger ran, knowing better than to disobey her, and knowing it was the safest place to be.

Turning back to the battle, the azure-eyed teen paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before facing Lindorm again. She held out a hand to stay his attacks, and he readied himself, waiting for her signal. The Bond between the Seeker Loki and the titan Lindorm had grown since the pair had first met, with both now trusting the other completely. The bear-dragon knew that the tiny human would not let him down.

A tense moment followed, a sudden break in the fight that was broken by the blonde sweeping her hand towards the Redcap across the chamber. "Go Lindorm!" The titan leapt forwards, rolling around himself, a high-pitched whine filling the air as he carved great lines in the air- and in the Redcap, which evaporated into light with a final, agonized cry.

"Loki!" It was Aiden, his emerald eyes fixed on a point beyond the girl, wide with fear. "Look out!"

Lindorm, hearing the boy's shout, made a sharp turn, knowing something was wrong... but he knew he would be too late to stop the now conscious suit stood back atop the boulder from shooting his Seeker with the Augerfrost charged in his palm. Man and girl faced each other, seemingly frozen, till the suit's voice broke the silence

"Augerfr-" Suddenly, the suit collapsed forwards, and Loki had to quickly dodge out of the way to avoid him landing on her. In his place on the rock, Dante stood with one hand raised in a fist, eyes dark and narrowed.

Will, glowering at the defeated suits as he passed, walked over to join them from where he had been fighting, wandered over, and Cherit stirred on Loki's shoulder. "Thanks." He murmured in her ear, smiling, and the girl smiled back.

"I'm sorry I asked you to do that." She told the little titan as he launched himself into the air again, flapping. "I know how tired it makes you, Cherit." The white creature waved away her apology with a tiny hand.

"It's not fair to let the lad get hurt just because he's not a Seeker, and," Cherit croaked, smiling softly at the worried blonde. "I enjoyed getting to help for once."

Dante jumped down from his rock, eyes grave and expression serious. "Those weren't your average suits." He warned his team, eyes unconsciously lingering on the one he thought needed the warning most- Loki. "They were smart, and armed with strong titans. We have to be careful." Aiden crept back up to the team as Zhalia padded down the stairs, resting a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" The azure-eyed girl shrugged him off, but before she had time to answer, Will butted in, glaring at the blue-haired woman now stood beside Dante.

"Why don't you ask how Zhalia is?" The Irish boy looked confused.

"Urm...what?"

The Casterwill folded is arms across his chest, his mouth a sour line in his face. "Why don't you ask how Zhalia is?" He repeated, before answering his own question. "Oh no, wait a minute, she's _fine_. She stood there and did nothing whilst the rest of us fought for our lives!"

Everyone turned to look at the accused, and she looked away, down at the ground, arms wrapped around her waist. It was clear, even to trusting Loki, that she was feeling guilty about something. "I...I don't know." Zhalia stuttered. "I...suddenly felt sick."

The auburn next to her felt his heart sink. She was keeping something from them, from _him_. "We'll talk about this later." He said quietly, and Zhalia almost cried at the hurt and disappointment in his amber eyes. She'd never wanted to hurt him, to hurt any of them, but she had no choice... "But for now, we have a mission. Will, if you would do the honors?"

The brunette nodded, green eyes narrowed. "Sure thing." As he walked past Aiden on his way to the secret door, he couldn't help but shoot him a cocky grin. 'Let's see you do this', it seemed to say, as the boy held out his hands towards the door. "Breakspell!" Blue light engulfed the teen, streaming from his hands in a constant river of power till it reached the door.

Gathering on the stone, the light grew brighter and brighter till the team were forced to look away. When the light had faded enough to see, the door was gone, and in its place a rocky tunnel, with steps leading down into the dark. The Casterwill turned back to look at his teammates, frowning. "Whatever Seeker locked this, he was really powerful. I can only open the way for a short time."

Dante nodded, calling his Boltflare forwards. "Then we'd better make the most of the time we have. Come on." Leaving Loki and Will to keep guard, he led the rest of his team into the tunnel, and the darkness.

* * *

><p>AN: I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible!<p> 


	40. Chapter 39 Home Turf Part 3

AN: This chapter really flowed, and I'm glad I managed to get it done so quickly. Hopefully the rest of the book will come as easy, though I have my doubts about that... Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 39- Home Turf Part 3

Dante blinked as he emerged into true light at the end of the dark. Golden eyes rising up past the pillar that emerged from the middle of the room to reach for the hole in the roof that was letting in the light, the auburn wondered how no one had ever found this place before. Stones, slanted and crooked, lined the room like gravestones, each one a respectful distance from the column in the center.

"Uh, Dante?" The voice that rang out behind the russet-haired Seeker would have made him jump, if it wasn't for the fact that he had perfect control over his emotions... most of the time.

"Do you see something?" Dante asked, turning to face the ginger stood awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs, all confidence that he had at the start of the day worn away by the attack they had just faced. Aiden's eyes held more then a trace of fear, but he still carried himself like the cocky boy they had met last night. The Irish padded forwards to stand by the older man, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

"No...its just..." The boy trailed off before sighing and facing Dante with serious emerald eyes. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I truly thought that Loki had told you- I mean, you _had _met Jamie, and come to the house. I thought you would have known before you met her foster parents."

Gold eyes stared into jade for a moment before the older man relaxed, smiling at the teen for the first time that day. "It was an honest mistake- but its not me you should be apologizing to."

The redhead nodded, green eyes thoughtful. "You're right...Thanks Dante, I'll go apologize right now!" He turned and started back up the stairs, slinking past Zhalia before letting a cunning smile spread across his face. It was all going to plan...

Zhalia looked after Aiden as he disappeared, eyes narrowed. There was something wrong about that boy... and it took a sneak to know one.

Footsteps echoed down the stairs, followed by a brief murmur of voices, then footsteps came back down the stairs again. However, it was Will, not Aiden, that appeared at the foot of the steps. "Aiden said you wanted to see me."

Dante frowned, but turned to the pillar he had been inspecting before the teen had walked over. Thinking that Aiden wanted to save face, and not embarrass himself in front of Will, he waved the brunette over, running a finger around some writing on the wall. "What do you think?"

The Casterwill almost glowed at being asked to help by his mentor and idol, and padded quickly over. His emerald eyes traced the lettering, vaguely recognizing the symbols there. "It's ancient Gaelic!" He said at last, grinning, glad to be of use.

Dante smiled back, caught up in the excitement, as per when it came to his younger teammates. "So," A challenge sparked in his amber eyes. "Can you read it?"

The jade-eyed boy bit his lip, thinking. "I know a bit from what Loki's taught me... I'll give it my best shot."

The russet-haired man turned back to the carving. "That's all I can ask."

The men faced the Gaelic together, identical looks of concentration as they tried to translate it. Behind them both, forgotten, Zhalia forced herself to reach into her bag, and pull out the Deadcalm. Looking at it with disgust, she prepared to use the beetle for its evil purpose.

Suddenly, Will laughed, grinning. "I recognize this from a story Loki was showing me on the flight over! There's a couple of words I don't understand, but a safe bet would be that this says: _Here lies the weapon of the great Dog Warrior_!"

The auburn beside him frowned for a moment, then smiled too. "According to history, the Irish hero Cu Chulainn was named after a dog."

The brunette nodded. "That's the story Loki was telling me! It's a local legend that he fought his last battle where Newgrange stands!" He pointed to the floor. "Right here!"

Noticing their excitement, Zhalia took a few quick and silent steps back, steeling herself. "Dante's completely absorbed in his puzzle. Now's the perfect time..." She held the Deadcalm out towards its too trusting, unsuspecting victim, but something stilled her hand. Closing her eyes, the blue-haired woman tried to force herself to use the object in nestled in her palm.

* * *

><p>Back in the main chamber, Loki was having a hard time controlling her temper, and thus her powers. When Aiden had appeared back at the top of the stairs, she'd smelt a rat, and when he said that Dante wanted to see Will, and that he'd take over guarding with the blonde, the stench grew stronger.<p>

Something wasn't right.

The ginger wandered across to sit next to her on the flat topped boulder in front of the now open secret door as Will's footsteps echoed down the dark hole in the wall. The teens stared at each other in silence for a moment before the boy spoke, a malicious grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"I've been waiting to get you alone."

Eyes wide with fear, seeing something... shattered, something broken and twisted and _wrong_ in Aiden's pair of crazed jade orbs, Loki jumped off the rock and backed away, a hand going to her amulet pouch.

It was empty.

The redhead shot her a smile that was a fraction too wide, manic and wild and dangerous, before pulling a trio of amulets from his pocket. "Looking for something?" The blue pendant belonging to Freelancer, the only one with enough strength left to fight, glowed angrily, and his captor winced. "Very loyal and strong." Aiden murmured. "Just like I want you to be."

The teens faced each other again, circling, and Loki felt sick to her stomach at the thought of fighting her once best friend. She was tired, titanless, and didn't want to hurt him. The ginger, however, was strong, determined and, most of all, crazy.

Knowing she couldn't defeat the boy alone, the blonde made a dash for the stairs, but felt an arm slip around her waist before she'd taken two steps. A hand over her mouth to stop her from crying out, hot breath on her neck, salty tears of helplessness spilling from her eyes, Loki knew it was over, and so did the green-eyed monster smiling behind her.

A fluttering of wings on the stairs heralded the arrival of a teammate, and the azure-eyed captive felt her heart soar as Cherit appeared in the doorway. Aiden snarled as the titan shrieked and flew to warn the others, before freezing as the sound of footsteps rang out through the main chamber. Pushing the blonde from him, he turned to face, eyes wide and filled with fear, the two late arrivals that were grinning down at them from beside their fellows' unconscious forms.

"Looks like we missed the party." One Austrian said, chuckling softly. The other laughed too.

"But I say the fun's just beginning!"

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Will and Dante had been puzzling over the significance of the writing. It seemed like a perfectly normal inscription for a tomb, but both Seekers knew there was more to it then that. Suddenly, the russet-haired man laughed, pointing to a picture carved into the rock a little further up. "See the way Cu Chulainn is holding up his spear. Look familiar?"<p>

A smile spread across his student's face, and the brunette nodded. "A titan! That's how a Seeker invokes one!"

The men grinned at each other, before the elder spoke. "That must be it!"

Behind them Zhalia felt something stay her hand as she fought to use Deadcalm again. Unbid, a memory of her and Dante rose to the center-stage of her mind, forcing her to look, to remember, to stop.

* * *

><p><em>The Argonaut ship near Velos, just after defeating Defoe. Whilst they were loading the boat, the russet-haired man had walked over to where she was sat at the front of the ship. After handing her Defoe's amulets, and instructing her to deliver them to the Foundation, he'd turned to leave.<em>

_He started back towards the others when Zhalia called after him. "Wait." He turned back. "Are you sure you want me to do this? After all, I am the least trustworthy member of your team."_

_Dante smiled at her. "Despite what Will says, I know that at the end of the day, I can trust you." He turned and walked away, not noticing the sly look Loki was shooting his way._

_Wide mocha eyes watching him go, Zhalia tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear. "No one's ever said that to me before..."_

* * *

><p>The blue-haired woman's hand shook as she took aim at the auburn's back again, her mouth set with reluctant determination.<p>

"The spear of Cu Chulainn..." Her target murmured to his companion. "What was it called?"

"Gy-" Will broke off as Cherit flew, screaming, into the chamber, slit-pupiled in terror. Dante stiffened, having only seen his friend this scared... well, he'd never seen the little titan this scared before.

"Aiden..." Cherit panted, landing in the brunette's outstretched arms, exhausted. "He..._attacked _Loki... He took her amulets!" The team stood, frozen in shock, before a cry echoed down to them.

"Augerfrost!" Shocked by the Austrian voice that reached their ears, the team, eyes wide with fear, began the long ascent to the teens, praying that they weren't too late.

* * *

><p>And at the top of the stairs, the trouble was only just beginning. When the suits had shot a joint beam of burning cold at the teens, Loki had taken the hit, held as she was before Aiden, but the shot still knocked the pair to the ground. The ginger's head hit the stone hard enough to rattle his brains, and his captive struggled free, standing aside from him, azure eyes flickering between him and the suits.<p>

"There's only three..." A rumble akin to thunder filled the chamber, and two Bonelashers stepped into view, followed closely by a three-eyed Enforcer. The blonde snarled, seeing the odds stack up against her. "Okay...make that six."

A low voice rang out from the far corner, gravelly and rough with hatred and longing. "Loki... is... MINE!" Aiden screamed at the suits before raising his hands, palms facing his enemies, his once handsome face twisted into something unrecognizable. "RAYPULSE!"

To Loki's surprise, and Aiden's, a powerful bolt of fire and rage leapt from the redhead's hands, reaching eagerly for the suits. Its targets merely smiled, the taller suit lifting his hands above his head with a sinister smirk.

"Blasteater!" A green head, like that of a Venus Fly Trap, grew between his hands, before snapping forwards to swallow the Raypulse whole, leaving no trace that it had ever existed. The teens stepped backwards in horror.

"Okay..." The youngest sighed. "That rules out powers." A glint on the floor, light from the magic reflecting to create sapphire sparks on the walls, revealed that Aiden, in his panic, had dropped the blonde's amulets. With a grin, the pendants' true owner dashed across the room, scooping them up before hiding behind a boulder to escape the wrath of her opponents.

Tucking a trio of amulets into her pouch, Loki clutched the last one to her chest, whispering to the titan within, desperation clear in her voice. "Help me, Freelancer!" In a burst of aquamarine, the French-styled titan sprung forth from his resting place, standing before his Seeker with anger swirling around his oversized form, almost visible in its strength.

"_Hold true, Loki_." He murmured softly, protective love and worry both apparent in his voice. "_Your allies come to aid you in your fight. Do not yield_!" His Seeker nodded, determination turning her azure eyes to burning fires, and she stepped behind his mighty shield.

A flash darted across the edge of the blonde's vision, and she turned her head to follow the Raypulse as it leapt, almost as if it was alive, at Aiden. The boy dove out of the way, sweat plastering his fiery locks to his forehead, emerald eyes glittering with fear. At his mistress's command, Freelancer stretched his shield to protect the redhead, and he looked over at Loki in shock, moving as if in a dream when she waved him over.

"Why-?" He began to ask, but his companion cut him off, eyes focused on her enemies.

"Because I know just how ruthless the Organization can be. No one deserves that kind of pain- not even you. Now, quiet! We just need to hold them off for a few more seconds!"

As if her words were some kind of key, a low rumbling filled the air, followed by the high, piercing screech of rock on rock, and the huge stone door behind the pair began to edge closed.

* * *

><p>And down below, the team forced themselves to move faster up the flight of stairs, urged on by Dante's words. "The door's closing! Hurry!"<p>

* * *

><p>Aiden drew a quick breath in through his teeth, looking between the suits and the stairs. "We've got to do something!" He whined to Loki, eyes wide.<p>

She glared at him. "What am I meant to do? Freelancer is my last titan!"

The redhead frowned, looking at his hands that had, a few minutes before, streamed fire at his enemies, wishing he could use it again. "There's no time to think of a plan!" He yelped, as twin Raypulses shattered the rock by his head, and he ducked behind Freelancer for protection. Azure eyes narrowed, their owner thinking hard as the door neared its jamb.

"Then I'll give you time." Loki said quietly. "Wish me luck- goodbye!"

The ginger frowned. "What do you mean-!" With a wave of blue-grey mist, ignoring the boy's protests, the blonde sent Aiden flying through the last gap that the door had left her before it slammed closed with awful finality.

* * *

><p>As he landed, spluttering, on the cold, hard floor, staring wide-eyed at the slab of stone blocking his path, the Irish lad felt hands pull him roughly to his feet. The same hands span him round to face their owner's eyes, which burned into his own like molten gold.<p>

"What happened?" Dante growled, urgency making every syllable shoot from between his clenched teeth like a bullet, his fingers digging into Aiden's arms, the auburn not caring for the boy before him in his worry. "What did you do?"

The horror of the situation finally began to sink through the ginger's shocked state, and his emerald eyes met Dante's amber, the answer swirling in their tortured depths. "L-Loki pushed me through..." He whispered, a single tear trailing down his cheek. "She wanted to protect me..."

Will shoved past his teammates to stand before the door again, eyes dangerously dark. Pushing away the redhead, his russet-haired mentor placed a gentle hand on the brunette's shoulder. "Can you break the seal again?"

The Casterwill sighed, shoulders sagging with defeat before answering. "I hope so." Straightening up, forcing himself to stand tall, to not give in, the jade-eyed teen placed his hands on the cold stone barring his way. "Breakspell!"

White light blossomed from his palms, spread over the rock to cover it all in a blinding shroud... then vanished, taking all hope with it. Dante gave a quiet snarl, turning and punching the wall with a fist, so hard that he bloodied his knuckles, in order to stop himself from doing the same to the ginger he believed to have cause it all. Zhalia raised a trembling hand to cover her mouth, pushing away her feelings so that she could stop the tears that sprang unbid to her eyes.

"The seal is stronger on this side..." Will breathed, falling to his knees before the door as if he'd been punched in the chest, unshed tears glistening in his mossy orbs. "I...I can't open the door."

"It's not over yet." Dante muttered from behind them all, reaching into his trenchcoat, his eyes already turning purple with the light of a summoning. "Lend us strength, Metagolem!"

The huge rocky titan barely fit into the cramped tunnel, and the Seekers had to scramble out of the way as he appeared in a burst of royal purple that befit his noble status. Sensing the urgency that made the air thick with emotion, Metagolem reached forwards to wrap his colossal fingers around the edge of the door without being asked, steadying his feet before beginning the task of heaving it open. The team shared a smile, hope filling their eyes...

And then, through the hairline crack that Metagolem had made, the low rumble of the suits's voices, interspersed with the inhuman growls of the titans and the buzz of the Enforcer's wings. A dark, throaty chuckle echoed around the chamber, followed by a sharp retort from Loki. Silence reigned for a second, then a brilliant, bright blue light filled the empty space, flinging the team back from their spot behind the door.

As it died down, the group behind the stone shared a look of pure wonder at their first glimpse of the blonde's true power. Metagolem made a sound like an avalanche falling, shaking his crowned head before returning to his post at the door, taking it in his giant hands once more.

Dante frowned, stepping up next to his titan, and as he summoned a Dragonfist to lend him strength, he froze, eyes wide. A scream, high and filled with agony, like someone's heart was being ripped from their chest.

A female scream.

A familiar scream.

_Loki's scream_.

Without wasting a moment, Will ran to the door, a Dragonfist covering his hands in ruby flame, grabbing the door below Metagolem's hands, his emerald eyes feverish and wild. Dante soon stood beside him, and Zhalia held back, seeing there was no room for another desperate person to tug and pull at that stone slab with all their might. As a second cry, higher than the first, echoing on and on, rang down the tunnel, Aiden turned tail and ran, jumping down the stairs to reach the obelisk, putting his hand on the pillar and, reaching for that power he'd felt stir when he'd first held Freelancer and Loki's other titans, called out the name of the titan he knew lay within.

"Gybolg! Come to me, heed your master's summons!" Green light answered him, appearing from the column in twisting, vine-like strands, wrapping around the ginger's hand before dispersing and leaving in their place a silver pendant with an emerald stone. Closing his hand over his first amulet, the Irish lad raced back to the team, ready to fight.

* * *

><p>By the time he reached the others, they'd managed to inch the door open a little ways, driven on by the screams ringing behind it. Suddenly, the crys cut off, and the team froze before carrying on their task with fevered haste, fearing their time had run out.<p>

As the men and Metegolem worked together, the door slid smoothly open. Dante allowed himself a grim smile as it reached half-way. "Almost there..." He panted, glancing at Will, who had stopped, eyes wide as the door revealed a suit, grinning at them with malicious intent, the Enforcer hovering at his shoulder.

"Talk about your sitting ducks." The stranger murmured, a blue light flooding his palm. Aiden gasped, backing away, scared of a threat he couldn't deal with.

"Dante!" He warned the russet-haired Seeker. "Get down!" The auburn shook his head, no fear in his eyes, his mouth set in a stubborn line.

"We can't let go of the door now!"

The ginger shook his head, holding still by strength of will alone, trembling. The suit's grin widened, and he held out his glowing hand. "Auger-!"

Zhalia stepped forward, glaring and filled with fury, eyes sparking. "Hold it!" Reaching into her pouch, she drew out the repulsive beetle that lay within, thinking to herself: "I hope this works on objects..." Before throwing it to latch onto the stone door, just as the Enforcer's third eye began to glow white. "Deadcalm!"

The bug flashed a sickly green, then dug into the center of the rock, causing the entire door to pulse with the same dull light, before the slab moved quickly away, opening the way to the team. Will fell backwards, not expecting the door to slide away from him, and Dante fell to his knees, glaring up at the suit that had sought to destroy him.

"You've had your fun." He growled, voice low and barely human. "Now for the rough stuff. Attack!"

Zhalia was the first to react, pulling out the black amulet that belonged to her dark knight, no longer listening to the scared voice inside her head that warned her of how disappointed Klaus would be, and what he'd do. "Fight for your lady, Kilthane!" The light of the black titan's summoning surrounded his Seeker in an aura of orange, flooding from her hands to form the titan's body standing before her with his sword raised.

Will was quick to follow, leaping to his feet whilst pulling his remaining titans from his pockets, lifting them both above his head, blue and turquoise raging around him in a maelstrom of power and energy. Angelic wings appeared at the boy's back before Icarus answered his master's call, flying into the physical world with lightening crackling along his feathers. Feyone stepped forth from the shadows with a sound akin to a battle horn, echoing around the tomb like the final trumpet cry on Judgement Day, blade flashing in anticipation of steel meeting flesh.

Last of all, Aiden took a deep breath before walking into the light beside his companions, holding up his only amulet with trembling hands, and wide, scared eyes. "Answer me, Gybolg!" A stream of emerald light flowed from the amulet to bury itself in the floor, shaking the earth as a mighty tree took root. Vines writhing upwards to form a colassal man, mud and bark flew from the ground to make his skin and flesh, a string of Celtic symbols becoming cloth around the creature's waist. Moss and leaves his long, flowing hair and beard, the elemental warrior held out one giant hand, and light grew there, unbearably bright, before disappearing and leaving a two-handed sword in its place. Gybolg's vine-like fingers wound around the handle, over the hilt, and down the blade, giving him perfect control over the fierce weapon.

The ancient titan knelt before the first one to summon him for a millennia, before standing beside his fellow spirit beings, ready to fight.

At Dante's signal, they charged as one, clashing in the Irish tomb with all the power of a storm, and none of its limits. Icarus was the first to take out his opponent, merely headbutting the Enforcer in its third eye, causing the insect to spin, screaming, to the ground like a fiery comet, where it burst into light upon landing.

Nodding to each other, Feyone and Kilthane teamed up, taking turns to hack and swing at one of the Bonelashers, who snapped at them, long trails of drool spilling from his open mouth to hang, glistening, from its long, sharp teeth as the creature tried to figure out which titan to attack first. The decision was taken from its all too stupid hands as the black knight struck the killing blow, burying his blade in the Bonelasher's heart as Gyblog defeated the last enemy with a single blow from his sword.

The suits backed away from the advancing army, eyes cold behind their glasses. "We got what we came for." An older suit whispered to his partner. "Let's go." The pair turned and ran, following the other, wiser suits that had long since fled the ancient tomb.

With a wave of his hand, Will sent his Icarus to follow them, and ensure they didn't return, before recalling Feyone to her amulet. Dante and Zhalia followed his example soon after, the former sagging against the wall, face pale and shoulders slumped with exhaustion. Aiden stood to one side nervously, unsure of how to do the same, before Zhalia sighed and called over: "Just say the titan's name again, and hold out his amulet." Ducking his head to hide his blush, the ginger did as he was bid, and Gybolg disappeared in a stream of jade light.

Dante nodded to Aiden, then forced himself upright, looking for Will, who had vanished whilst the team had been returning their titans. The auburn was about to call the brunette's name when the boy's voice sounded through the chamber. "Dante! Zhalia!" He appeared around the corner, eyes wide and filled with tears that were streaming down his cheeks. The team knew instantly that something was wrong- no one had ever seen the Casterwill lose control like this, ever. "I've found Loki, but she's not moving! Please, you have to come quickly!" He dashed away, and the team was still for a moment before following swiftly on his heels, fearing the worst.

* * *

><p>They found Will by the sarcophagi in the main chamber, cradling Loki in his arms. Dante knelt by the boy, taking the girl's slender wrist in his hands, holding his breath, whilst behind him Zhalia and Aiden hovered anxiously. Time seemed to stop as he searched for a pulse, and the amber-orbed Seeker began to lose hope when, suddenly, he felt it, beating weakly against his finger tips. He sighed, leaning back against the wall, closing his eyes and allowing a small smile to grace his colourless lips.<p>

"She's alive."

Will made a noise half way between a sob and a sigh, and buried his face in the blonde's golden hair, hugging her to him as he cried. Zhalia raised an eyebrow- she'd never thought the brunette would ever react this badly to anything. He'd always seemed so calm about everything, except when she jibed him about his family, and yet, here he was. Aiden didn't look so good either, leaning against the wall with a stark white face and pinched lips, shaking. The blue-haired woman sighed, and shook her head, taking charge.

"Will, pull yourself together." She snapped, the gentle hand she rested on his shoulder softening her words. Hearing her voice, Dante shook himself, standing slowly as if he'd aged a thousand years since that morning, and Zhalia quickly looked him up and down, judging how stable he was. Deciding he was okay, she shook the boy sitting on the floor again. "Will, I need you to give Loki to Dante. We need to get out of here, okay?"

The emerald-eyed teen looked up at her with wide, child-like eyes, before biting his lip and nodding, picking the unconscious- how happy that word sounded now, how bright and full of hope!- blonde, before placing her gently in Dante's outstretched arms. The russet-haired man immediately pulled her close, and in doing so, her white shirt shifted, the collar falling open.

Will staggered backwards, eyes wide and scared, face ashen. "Dante," He gasped, staring at Loki. "Dante, look at her neck!"

The team crowded round as the older Seeker frowned, pushing aside long, blonde hair to get a clear view of what the Casterwill had seen.

A long chain of glowing, silver symbols made a necklace around her pale throat, the patterns ever changing, always shifting, sinking into her skin only to reappear elsewhere. Zhalia glared at the floor, thinking hard of every spell she had ever learnt, every curse and charm and power, trying to match them to the magic swirling around the girl, and beside her Will did the same. Both came up blank, and the blue-haired woman shook her head again, clearing her mind to concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Aiden, give me your car keys." She ordered, turning to the ginger, who jumped, startled.

"W-what?" He stammered, and Zhalia held out her hand.

"Car keys, now. You're in no state to drive." With trembling hands, the redhead drew his keys out of his pocket, and reluctantly handed them over. The mocha-orbed agent closed her fingers over the keys, then turned to the others. "Come on, we need to go, before those suits bring back up."

The team turned to the passage that would take them back to the outside world, and the brunette at the front of the group ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "I don't think the suits will come back." He said slowly, regaining some of his control, and wiping his face, although it was far too late to hide his tears. "What was it they said? We have what we came for?"

Dante nodded. "We'll have to ask Loki about it when she wakes up." Something about the certainty in his voice when he said when calmed Will's incessant worry, and the team walked in silence till they reached the main entrance. Zhalia hesitated after getting into the driver's seat, and ducked her head, thinking, whilst doing up her seat belt.

"Dante," She said quietly, not wanting to scare the teens not reluctantly sharing the back seat, her eyes falling on the blonde he was holding against his chest, and the light of the symbols that now danced about her neck. "We can't take her to hospital, or to her house. We can't let non-Seekers see her like this."

Gold eyes, dark with sorrow, rose to meet Zhalia's, and she realized that the auburn had already thought of this. "She needs help." Dante murmured. "Help we can't give her."

Aiden poked his head through from the back, looking between the adults sat in the front with serious emerald eyes. "We can go to my place, and from there we can contact the Foundation to send some Seeker healers."

Coffee-coloured eyes stared the redhead down for a moment, remembering how Cherit had flown, screaming, to warn them against the Irish boy, before nodding.

"Where do you live?"

The drive back to County Kerry was silent, the atmosphere tense and dark, and Dante soon noticed that it wasn't only Loki he had to worry about- Will had retreated completely into himself, jade eyes unseeing, arms folded across his chest. This day had broken something inside of the brunette, shattered something that had cracked deep under Paris, in the Catacombs. The russet-haired man wasn't sure how much more the Casterwill could take.

He wasn't sure how much more any of them could take...

* * *

><p>AN: What can I say? I love to surprise you people! This chapter is the pivotal moment in my storyline, seeing as this was the scene that I first had the idea about!<p>

The next chapter may answer some questions...


	41. Chapter 40 Turf Wars

AN: Enjoy. That's all I can say.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 40- Turf Wars

Dante sighed, staring out the window at the dark sky, gold eyes dark and distant as the sun that had long since set. In the few hours since they had returned to County Kerry, there had been no change in Loki's condition, and no change in the tense atmosphere between the team and Aiden either. When the redhead thought no one was watching, time and time again the russet-haired man had seen the greedy, hungry look upon his face as he stared at the blonde lying on the sole bed in the house, unmoving save for the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Occasionally, she'd flinch or freeze, some dark nightmare brought on by whatever had happened tormenting her sleeping mind, and the group waiting anxiously for her to wake would freeze too, till both would relax as her breathing resumed its steady pattern.

Standing up, Zhalia marched from the room without a word, and amber eyes watched her go, filled with sorrow. The blue-haired woman was known for being cold-hearted and emotionless, but the whole team had fallen in love with the lively, sweet girl who had sacrificed herself to save her attacker. Yes, Dante still remembered that Cherit had warned them about the ginger, and if it wasn't for the fact that they needed somewhere to stay, the auburn would have left Aiden at Newgrange and been done with him. The Foundation would have to be told at some point, but it was Loki's decision, and she was in no state to make it. With a sigh, the golden-orbed Seeker resumed his silent vigil, not knowing that outside, Zhalia was preparing to save or betray them, and still didn't know which she was going to do.

The mocha-orbed agent, was leaning on the wall, staring at the small mobile in her hand, thumb hovering over the call button. Steeling herself, Zhalia took a deep breath before pressing the icon, and lifting the phone to her ear. "Zhalia, my dear." Klaus, the owner of both the bookshop, the beetle, and the suits from earlier, murmured down the line. "I hope you have good news for me." Toying with a strand of indigo hair, his 'dear' could almost see the sinister smile he would be wearing as he waited anxiously for the news of Dante Vale's unfortunate demise.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I don't."

Klaus's voice turned instantly cold. "What do you mean?" He said calmly, and Zhalia knew that he'd be carefully controlling his temper.

"I... I couldn't sabotage the mission. I didn't get the chance." He repeated her last sentence with disbelief clear in his Austrian-accented voice, and the blue-haired Seeker leapt in before he could say anymore. "I'm sorry, it just didn't work out. I can't talk right now, I have to go. Goodbye...Grandfather." She hung up quickly, holding the mobile as if it was a poisonous snake before turning it off, and slipping it back into her pocket. Composing herself, she sashayed back inside.

"I couldn't reach Guggenheim's phone. Maybe you should try contacting him on your Holotome, Dante?" The russet-haired man turned to face her, and for a moment Zhalia thought he'd see right through her. If he did, he kept it well hidden, and instead drew his Holotome from one of his trenchcoat's many pockets.

"Good idea." Opening up the machine, the blond Huntik operative's cheery face quickly appeared, beaming up at his old friend.

"Dante! To what do I owe the pleasure? You're on a break, aren't you?" As the auburn updated him, Guggenheim's smile faded, and a frown took its place. Finally, when everything had been said that needed to be, he asked to see the markings that danced across the blonde's neck. Dante complied, trusting his friend and superior, and scanned the symbols into his Holotome, placed them into a file, and sent them to Guggenheim.

The blond's frown deepened as he looked them over. "I've never seen a curse quite like this before, nor any language that uses characters like this."

Dante sighed. "I thought as much. For now, we need to get back to Venice. Can you arrange transport for us?"

Guggenheim nodded. "It's the least I can do, Dante. As for the markings, I'll have the Foundation's top researchers make finding this spell's origins their first priority. Till then, I'm afraid, my friends, that all we can do is pray that Miss Lambert's strength and will help her to make a swift recovery. My thoughts are with you all." He bowed his head once, and then the screen went dark.

Closing the machine with a heavy heart, gold eyes drifted over to Will. The brunette hadn't budged from Loki's bedside since they'd arrived at Aiden's house, his emerald eyes remaining fixed on the blonde's face, scouring her for any signs of waking up. If he hadn't been sure of it before, Dante was sure now that Will was in love with Loki, and had formed an irreplaceable, irrrevocable, unshakable bond with her- one that could even rival the Bond between a titan and their Seeker. Shifting to look once more out of the window, the amber-orbed man prayed to any and every god in existence that Loki would pull through. She had to because, without her, they would all suffer.

* * *

><p><em>Rouen, France<em>

"Apparently, they were on a mission in Ireland." A pair of Seekers were gossiping in the corner of the room, earning a glare from researcher using the library to study. They didn't notice, however, and kept on talking, getting louder and more animated as they went on. A story as juicy as this hadn't happened for a long time. With a sigh, Peter tried to drown out their voices, and had almost managed it when one phrase made him turn, pale and shaking, to stare at the gossipmongers with wide, grey eyes.

"Yes, one of Dante Vale's team, that's right."

Peter strode over, slamming his hands down on their table. "What are you talking about? What happened to Dante's team?"

The older Seeker smiled eagerly, glad to have an audience. "People are saying that one of them was cursed doing a mission at Newgrange Passage Tomb. A young girl... I think her name was Lottie or something."

"Loki? Loki Lambert?" He asked, urgently. Oh no, oh please, God no, don't say her name...

The Seeker nodded, frowning. "Yeah, sounds about right." The confusion in his eyes cleared as he nodded sagely. "Oh, that's right. You went on a mission with them once, didn't you?"

"Yes... I did."

* * *

><p><em>London, England<em>

Montehue sighed, shrugging off his rain-drenched coat as he closed his front door behind him. Tersley was hovering at the bottom of the stairs, wringing his hands, face pinched and pale, and the steel-haired man froze. Though the ginger was an easily scared young man, it took a lot to make him cry in the comfort of his own home.

"I...I just got a call from Guggenheim." The Irishman stuttered. "S-something's happened to Dante's team." Montehue felt his heart clench in fear for his long time friend and rival.

"What happened?" The big man whispered hoarsely.

Tersley sniffed, wiping away some tears before continuing. "It seems Loki has been made the victim of an unknown curse." The two Seekers stood in silence, thinking about that mission in Iceland almost a month ago, before the older man put one massive hand on the younger's shoulder.

"Come on, Tersley. We're going to the library."

* * *

><p><em>Two days later, Venice, Italy<em>

"Dante?" The russet-haired Seeker looked up, meeting Will's emerald eyes quickly at the worry in his voice, closing his book. The brunette was hovering in the doorway to the living room, a cup of tea in each hand, but came over when his mentor waved him over. "Are you okay?" Golden eyes turned thoughtfully inward, thinking how best to answer that question.

It had been two days since the Foundation had flown the team home, and Zhalia hadn't stuck around for long, disappearing to where ever it was she went when the team wasn't on missions. The Casterwill boy had been glad to see her go, not trusting her after her reluctance to fight in Ireland, but Dante had been worried. There was something bothering the blue-haired agent, and she'd been even meaner than usual, trying to keep the attention away from herself and her problems. That first day had been the worst- constantly waiting for some sign that Loki was regaining consciousness, fretting at the slightest catch of breath. Will was still refusing to go home, wanting to stay close and help, and Dante welcomed the company and the distractions that it brought. His thoughts were often dark and troubled these days- filled with memories of his past, worries about those close to him, and they kept drifting back to the similarities between Loki's condition and Metz's. The constant sleep, the weakening condition (though, thankfully, the blonde was still as strong as ever) and the overhanging threat of death preyed on the young man's mind, and both he and his jade-eyed friend hadn't slept much since.

* * *

><p>Today had been better. Trying to figure out a system, the boys had realized that being in the room with Loki only made them worry more, and so had set up a monitor like the ones parents used to listen to their children, and focused more on finding out how to help the blonde. Will was sure that she would wake up when she was good and ready, bright-eyed and same as ever, but Dante had his reserves. No one ever truly recovered from a curse. It was a blight on the rest of their lives, a constant reminder that they had been made a victim at their weakest moment.<p>

"Dante?" Will asked, as he saw his mentor's eyes grow distant again. The russet-haired man blinked, then smiled reassuringly at the brunette.

"I'm fine, Will. Don't worry about me." Dante couldn't help but notice the way that the boy's eyes instantly flickered to the monitor sitting, silent, on the table. Both of them could almost hear the unspoken ending to his sentence. "_It's not me you should be worrying about._"

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed without comment or incident, both men just drifting aimlessly about the house, lost within their minds and thoughts. Will, it turned out, was an impeccable cook, for all he was pampered by LeBlanche. As the pair sat together, Dante made some joke about the teen's abilities, and they laughed together. The sound stopped as soon as it had started, with two sets of anxious, guilty eyes staring at the monitor that seemed to lurk ominously in the corner of the room. The Casterwill stood with a sigh, stretching his back, before giving his mentor a small, sad smile.<p>

"Night Dante." He left without another word, and it wasn't long before Dante followed him up the stairs to his room, too tired with the world to even read through some case files like he usually did. Soon, all was silent in the detective's house, save for the sound of steady breathing in and out.

* * *

><p><em>Darkness, tinted red with blood, ringing with a single voice. She can feel it brushing against her, the words trailing across her skin like fingers. Forces batter against her, the voice shouting now, screaming at her to obey, to do as it commands. Tears stream down her face as she pushes it back, and as one trickles over her lips, she realizes that they are tears of blood, and then she is drowning in them, choking on their coppery taste.<em>

_And then they are gone, suddenly, and the darkness is blue like grief, and purple like sorrow, and something slithers around her like a snake, sinuous and deadly, tightening its coils till she is left gasping for breath. Summoning the dregs of her strength she breaks out of its grasp, and the voices murmuring around her rise in volume like a great wave in a storm, pressing on her mind till she is forced to her knees, hands over her ears, screaming to keep out the noise._

_Silence falls, quick as a flash of lightening, and she stands up cautiously, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as she senses something out there in the darkness, now a black so complete that it robbed her of more than just her vision, they uprooted her, tilting all her other senses of balance as well. This was more than just a lack of light- this was the same thing that lurks under the basement stair or at the back of the closet, that full darkness that your brain believes is stuffed with serial killers and monsters. She knows she isn't imagining it though- something else is there with her in the shadows, searching. "Where?" It chants. "Find it, need it, must have it! Where, where, __**where**__?" The voice, so familiar, where had she heard it? It was so cold, devoid of humanity, a man's voice, just like all the others, ancient and cruel. She could almost hear the curl of its lip as it spoke, the disgust and hatred on its unseen face._

_Suddenly, bright blue light blossomed between her and the thing, and she half-recognizes the twisted form before her. It's the face that her eyes are drawn to though. A mangled visage, one black eye halved with a scar of burning silver, both still gleaming with malice._

_And as he surged towards her in a wave of darkness, she felt light build up beside her to burn the black away, the two colliding in a crash that rivaled even the most fierce of deformed man reached for her, and as his hands closed around her throat, she knew where she had met him before. _

_The hospital in Paris, the night after they had escaped the Catacombs, the same evil had invaded her mind in search of something it though she possessed. She thought back even further, something niggling at the back of her mind, till her memories settled on the visions the Ring of Arc had shown her of the Organization, her father... and the Professor. Some detail about that misshapen mind and face caught her inner-eye, and she realized, with dreadful clarity and horror, that the presence in her mind now, and the malformed genius she remembered seeing were one and the same._

_The Professor, knowing that she had now learned his identity, tightened his grip on her neck, but his victim took his hands lightly in her own, and threw him far from her, lightening crackling down her arms in an incredible display of anger and power. Feeling the powers that had kept her bound and shackled within herself crack and shatter..._

Loki opened her eyes.

* * *

><p>AN: And here, as my sister would say with a smug grin, is where the originality starts<p> 


	42. Chapter 41 Hyde and Seek

ooc: Heya, people, more originality here!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 41- Hyde and Seek

Cherit looked up from the book he was reading, frowning at the little machine on the table next to him. Seeing as he didn't sleep, the little titan had offered to take night-watch, wanting to be able to help his friends, but now was the first time that the monitor had made any noise. The titan stared at machine for one long moment, before shrugging and turning back to his book. It was probably just the house settling down.

* * *

><p>Little did he know, the noise he had heard was cloth being wrapped around the device, cutting off all sound, before the machine's target gave the room one last look with her azure eyes, gently placed two letters on the table, and slipped out the window. If she wasn't sure that one of them would wake, Loki would have gone and said a quiet goodbye to Dante and Will, who she was sure was in the house. She couldn't let them stop her, couldn't let them persuade her to stay. The blonde knew that one look from Will's emerald eyes would crumple her will-power into a tiny ball, and she couldn't risk that, couldn't risk their lives and the lives of those around her. She had to disappear.<p>

Because if anyone found her, the world would suffer.

* * *

><p>The next morning dawned bright, and filled with hope. As Will stumbled, half asleep, from the guest room he was staying in, he felt some of that happiness light up his soul. "Today would be the day." He told himself. "Today, Loki will wake up."<p>

As he passed Dante's room, he froze, not quite believing his eyes. The auburn was sat on his made bed, staring with unseeing eyes at a piece of paper in his hands. He looked up as the brunette's footsteps sounded on the stair, and the boy knew in that moment that something terrible had happened.

Without waiting for his mentor to explain the empty, hollow look that made his amber eyes pale as winter sunlight, the Casterwill charged downstairs, flung open Loki's door...

And was met with nothing. No corpse, as he had feared, nor an awake blonde with no memories, that had ranked just below his fear of her death.

Just nothing.

Will collapsed to the floor as if he'd been hit by a Raypulse, all the air rushing from his lungs as he fought to understand just what he was seeing. Sobs racked his thin body, his breath finally coming in huge gulps.

Loki was... gone. Not dead, but gone. And she'd left without saying goodbye.

* * *

><p>Will stayed like that till a warm, furry thing wound itself around his neck. "I'm sorry, lad." Cherit croaked. "I should have watched her better..." The brunette shook his head, almost dislodging the little titan.<p>

"None of us could have known... I never thought she was one to run away." Footsteps made the old stairs creak, and Dante padded over, even his cat-like grace making the wood groan. He placed a gentle hand on Will's shoulder before speaking.

"She left letters... one for each of us." Realizing that this was what the russet-haired Seeker had been reading earlier, the emerald-eyed boy quickly stood and turned, not knowing what to expect. Dante handed him a small piece of paper, then looked away before heading downstairs, his face resolute and filled with determination. Will's eyes followed the man till he was out of sight, wondering what he was up to, before his gaze fell, hungrily, onto the letter. Surely Loki would tell him why she was leaving? She'd not leave him without saying goodbye? He unfolded the crumpled paper, and began to read.

_Will,_was written there in the blonde's tiny, neat handwriting, _this is the end. _The brunette felt his heart turn to stone, but forced himself to carry on, needing to know the truth.

_Lately, all our plans went all wrong. It's as if we are nothing but fighting and shouting and tears. I've had enough.I've reached the point where I can't stand it anymore. I've reached my limit, and nothing can talk me into staying, not even you. In truth, I've always been a minute away from walking- just ask Dante. The very first day I met him, I tried to walk away from all of this. Now I've got the chance to walk again, I'm taking it without hesitation._

_This world is just twisted, like a fairytale gone bad. I can't just cry for all I've lost and move on, my wounds are too deep, too raw. I've already lost my father, and I won't sacrifice myself for the Foundation either._

_Though all this stands against me, I thought for a while that there was something on my side, but now I realize there is nothing to make me stay. Not the wonder of my powers, not the excitement of exploring the world, and not you. You were my friend, and nothing more, but I can't stay so close to all you stand for. The Seeker World holds no charm for me anymore, and I don't want to be a part of it. Even if I left the Foundation, you, Dante and Zhalia would still seek me out- I could never truly leave. So I have found a way to say goodbye to that place of monsters. _

_Don't try to find me. Pretend I never existed, put me out of your mind. Everytime you falter, remember all the tears that being Seekers has caused us both. I had to swallow all my pride to leave this mess behind like this, and now it is your turn to do the same. Forget me, forget everything about me. Put all of your memories and dreams about an us that never was and throw them away. I don't exist anymore._

_**Loki.**_

Will crumpled the paper in his hand, feeling his heart shatter into tiny, unfixable pieces. The torn and twisted fragments were a puzzle that only Loki could ever solve, with her quick mind and infinite patience.

"_You were my friend, nothing more,_"Rang through his head, filling every corner and space of his mind with grief and heartache. The brunette had never had many friends, so each one was precious to him. Infact, before he met Loki, LeBlanche and Santiago had been his only friends, but they didn't really count. And Loki had been so much more than a friend to him, she had been everything. Without her the sun was dark, the earth was cold, and his world was empty and grey. How was he meant to live without her? How was he meant to forget her?

"Cherit." He said in a choked whisper, tears clogging up his throat. "Tell Dante I'm going home." The Casterwill stood, stumbling away with a blank face, his emerald eyes filled with churning emotions, dark with sorrow. The little titan watched him go, wondering what it was that Loki had said, what she had done to make Will so angry with himself.

* * *

><p>The brunette walked the canals for hours, not wanting Dante to find him when Cherit passed his message on. A glint of sun on metal caught his eye, and he looked up, open-mouthed, as Solwing soared over his head to land in the tree behind him. The bird's head tilted to one side, as if listening to something, before turning to look down an alleyway behind him. Will glared at the titan. "What are you doing here?" Solwing ruffled his feathers at the boy's tone before giving him a reproachful look, shuffling from foot to foot. He looked between the alleyway and the Casterwill again before ducking his head and preening his feathers.<p>

Emerald eyes narrowed. "What? You want me to follow you?" The bird squawked at him, swooping low of his branch before circling over the brunette's head, a clear yes. Will sighed, fingering Sabriel's amulet around his neck, thinking. Solwing had obviously been sent by Dante, hadn't he? Either way, the winged pest wasn't going to leave him to his misery.

With an even deeper sigh than the first, the Casterwill waved his hand, signaling for the titan to lead the way.

* * *

><p>Will rolled his eyes as Solwing led the way down yet another back-street. If he didn't know better, he'd have said that the titan didn't know where his Seeker was. A flash of beige at the end held a glimpse of hope, and the brunette hurried after the swooping bird, who landed on a nearby lamp-post with a smug look. Dante turned at the sound of footsteps, dropping instantly into a fighting stance, before relaxing, a weak smile tugging at the corners of his tired mouth. "Hey Will. Didn't think you were coming." Golden eyes landed on the bird with his beak in the air, helmet tilted at a cocky angle, before sighing. "I guess you weren't going to, were you?"<p>

The emerald-eyed lad looked away, scowling at the ground beneath his feet. "No. I thought Solwing was acting on orders." The auburn shook his head, holding out his arm for the titan to perch on like a well trained falcon.

"Only sometimes. He isn't so good at listening... or rather, he listens too much. He must have heard what went on this morning, and gone looking for you." The bird shuffled on Dante's arm, eyes intent on Will. His Seeker laughed. "He sees you as one of his chicks, Loki too." They both winced at the mention of the blonde's name.

Will was the first to speak again. "So, what are _you_ doing here, Dante?"

Russet hair hanging over his eyes, the eyes shadowed beneath round and shocked. "You really have to ask?" The auburn sighed, wincing as Solwing used him as a launch to fly away. "Just because she told us to forget her, doesn't mean that I will. She's my friend, my family now, and I can't just leave her to deal with this- whatever it is- alone."

The Casterwill's hands clenched into fists in his pockets, and he span around and started to walk stiffly away. "Then count me out." He spat, feeling both his and Dante's emotions swirling around him; the hurt, the disappointment, the worry, anger and pain. He could almost see the amber-orbed man's solid determination, like black aura around his tense form, resolute and unmoving.

"You're giving up on her?" Will turned back, his green eyes dark as night.

"No." He murmured, the words only just reaching his mentor's ears. "She gave up on me."

He walked away without another word, a lonely figure against the sunlight, one crystal tear shining on his cheek.

And from the shadows, a girl who thought she was a monster watched with azure eyes before turning and running away from everything she had given up, and everyone she had lost.

* * *

><p>AN: Awwwwww, I am so mean to Will in these chapters.<p>

Review, people, and it'll keep my attention focused whilst my internet is dead!


	43. Chapter 42 The Mistake

AN: The originality continues! _Dun dun duuuuuuuun!_

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 42- The Mistake

Weak winter sunlight broke the dark horizon, pure rays of light making heavenly pathways through the night sky as the sun began its daily journey once again. Amber eyes, the same colour as the fiery chariot now peeking over the Earth's rim, peered sleepily out the window over the brim of the steaming mug in their owner's hands. Dante sighed, rubbing sleep from his eyes, tired, black bags already beginning to show. The auburn had stayed out till exhaustion had forced him home, searching relentlessly for someone who didn't want to be found.

Loki.

Her name cut through his heart like a knife, bringing back painful memories of all the others he had lost along the way. Yesterday, there had been so many times that he'd thought he'd seen her. A flash of blonde hair, and gleam of azure eyes, a flicker of a cheeky smile. It never was. As Loki herself had written, it was as if she had never existed, save for the faint hint of perfume that lingered in the house.

A knock at the door shocked the russet-haired Seeker from his thoughts, and hope flickered through his tired mind before he had a chance to push it away. Clearing his head and heart, he hurried to the door, opening it to reveal...

Zhalia. He smiled at her, not disappointed in the slightest. The blue-haired Seeker felt her heart jump when he grinned at her, but her cold inner self noted the sadness that lingered in his amber orbs.

"I came to check on how Loki's doing." She said cautiously. There it was again- that flash of pain that was quickly covered up with emptiness. Something had happened. "How is she?"

Dante sighed, gesturing for her to come in before leading the way to the living room. "There's something I need to tell you..."

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Zhalia sighed, nursing the cup of coffee in her hands, as Dante finished his story. "I can't believe that Loki would really do this." He murmured. "But there's nothing in her notes to suggest she'd been forced by anyone."<p>

The mocha-orbed woman narrowed her eyes, thinking. "Something obviously happened to make Loki believe that this was the only way. The only thing that could have happened was that spell the suits used, the one on her neck. Has Guggenheim found anything from the Foundation's researchers yet?"

The auburn shook his head. "Nothing. I haven't heard from him since we came back from Ireland."

Nodding to herself, Zhalia tapped Gareon's amulet around her neck with a finger. "Can you call Solwing out for me?" She asked, an idea beginning to take shape in her mind. Dante gave a small smile.

"Of course." He called over his shoulder as he went to fetch the blue-stoned pendant from where he had left it the night before, silently wondering what she was up to.

* * *

><p><em>An hour later<em>

Gareon glowered at the ground, hating how far away it was. The little lizard was hanging from Solwing's golden claws, using his abilities to keep them hidden from human sight. He muttered under his breath in quiet reptilian growls, hearing faint laughter from his Seeker in reply, which only served to sour his mood even further. The titans were scouring the streets of eastern Venice, flying low over the rooftops with sharp eyes and bated breath. Solwing gave a soft cry as a shadow moved in a doorway, and the green creature tensed in his talons. They both sagged with disappointment when a haggard, old tramp stumbled out of the alleyway, shaking his head clear of foggy sleep before staggering off, bottle in hand.

On the other side of the ancient city, the Seekers weren't having much luck finding what they were seeking. It was truly as if the blonde had disappeared without a trace. Dante was losing hope of ever finding Loki, but every time he thought about giving up, he remembered who she was: a quick, clever mind hidden behind bright, blue eyes; a brave, loyal and fiercely proud girl, whose love for her friends came first before everything, even her own safety. The auburn sighed- the azure-orbed teen would never have given up on him, or anyone else. Now it was his turn not to give up on her.

Zhalia shot a glance at her companion, mocha eyes narrowed and filled with quickly concealed worry. "We should split up." She said at last, to break the suffocating silence. "Cover more ground." Dante frowned, thinking it over before nodding.

"Alright," He said slowly, scanning the surrounding alleyways. "Can you give me your number so I can call you if I find her, or visa versa." Later, the gold-eyed man would look back and congratulate himself on coming up with the perfect excuse to get the blue-haired woman's mobile number, but at the present time, his mind was concerned with another woman, or rather, girl.

Zhalia, sensing an ulterior motive, raised an eyebrow before passing him a small, non-descript mobile, then held out her hand for his. The pair quickly exchanged numbers, something the mocha-orbed Seeker thought she might someday regret, before returning to their search, each going their own separate way.

* * *

><p>Not too far away, their flaxen-haired quarry was bitterly wishing that she had thought to bring her amulets with her. All alone and on the run, she could have done with Springer's quick mind, and Freelancer's courage to keep her going, not to mention the protection any one of her four titans would bring. Her mind filled with thoughts of Kipperin, her hand drifted unconsciously to her neck, where the winged creature's pendant would usually hang, needing the comfort the cool steel and stone would bring. Loki managed to stop herself from touching her neck just in time, drawing her hand away from the bright markings that ringed her throat. Not knowing what they were, she thought it best to leave them alone.<p>

With a quiet sigh, the girl stood from the doorway where she had spent the night, looking at the sky for any signs of Solwing. She'd seen the bird yesterday, and had narrowly avoided him several times. A small quirk pulled her lips into a sarcastic smile. She might have guessed that Dante wouldn't listen. The blonde ran a hand through her hair thinking. She'd have to be careful- her auburn mentor was a good Seeker, and to top it off, he was a detective too. As his prey, she'd have to be on her guard at all times.

She couldn't let him find her, couldn't let any of them find her.

Azure eyes wide, Loki froze. _Any of them... _Cursing, she ran down the alleyway, quickly moving through the streets, ducking and diving through alleyways and hurtling down side-streets, constantly moving. Dante had probably contacted Zhalia by now, and that meant they'd have Gareon searching for her. The little titan would be a big problem if he was here- with his invisibility, she wouldn't be able to see him before it was too late.

Unknown to her, eyes watched her pass from the shadows, a grin of sharp, white teeth flashing in the darkness. The black-haired boy fingered the skull-shaped amulet resting in the hollow of his throat. "Impet, appear." The tiny humanoid quickly formed at his master's side, head cocked at a curious angle, his ears flopping cutely over his devious eyes. The boy looked down, red eyes like evil pits of fire in his gaunt and hollow face. "I need you to carry a message. The Boss will be very interested in this."

* * *

><p>As darkness fell on that cold, September day, Dante's phone finally rang, and the auburn picked up, hands shaking with exhaustion and anticipation. Zhalia's voice crackled down the line. "Still no sign of Loki." Gold eyes dimmed, and the man's shoulders sagged with disappointment.<p>

"Same here. Have Gareon and Solwing seen her?" On the other end of the line, the blue-haired woman shook her head.

"They thought they did once, but it wasn't her." Dante sighed, running a hand through his hair as he thought.

"Alright," He said at last, voice dull and hopeless. "We'll meet up back at my house, and start again as soon as it gets light." Another sigh echoed down the line before Zhalia replied.

"Did you ever think that maybe she didn't _want_ to be found?" The russet-haired man froze, similar thoughts that had been preying on his mind all day suddenly rushing forwards, demanding they be heard. Taking his silence as denial, the coffee-eyed Seeker went on. "Did you ever think that, maybe, she got tired of being scared for her life every time she stepped out the front door? Running away may have seemed like the only solution."

Dante tried to interrupt. "Zhalia, please-"

"Give up." The words cut through them both like a knife, but the blue-haired woman knew that it had to be done. "She's not coming back. Not now, not ever."

Never had silence seemed so loud between the pair. The amber-orbed Seeker's voice finally broke it, hoarse with tears and anger. "Don't say that. You can't ask me to give up on her- you know I can't do that."

Zhalia scoffed, glad he couldn't see her face, brushing away tears of her own. She had never hated following her grandfather's orders more than she did now. Dante's heart was as precious to her as her own, and now she was shattering it into little pieces, and grinding it beneath the heel of her boots. "Then go ahead, waste your life for all I care. You'll spend the rest of your life looking for something that you can never find." She hung up before walking away, letting her tears fall freely now that there was no one to see them.

"Gareon," She called quietly, running a finger softly over the jagged edge of his amulet. "Return." Emerald green surrounded her for a moment before gently fading away, the reptile's coarse growls chattering in her ears.

A soft gasp, quickly followed by a quiet curse reached the woman's ears, and she span, coffee-coloured eyes meeting azure. "Loki?"

The blonde turned and ran, Zhalia close on her heels. "Loki! Wait!" The girl looked back, only long enough to send a Raypulse at a pile of boxes, creating a blockade of smoking wood and charred remains. Cursing, the blue-haired Seeker turned on her heel, calling Gareon and Strix forth. The three wasp-like titans flew straight after the girl, and the green lizard appeared on the wall beside his mistress, crawling at top speed before leaping onto her shoulder. She didn't falter, used to her friend's comings and goings, propelling herself around a corner, and diving out of the way of someone coming the other way, rolling and clambering to her feet before preparing to go again, but a single word stopped her.

"Zhalia?"

Her name, spoken by a familiar voice. Golden eyes staring deep into her own, large, gentle hands helping her to her feet, she had, of all the rotten, wondrous luck, ran straight into Dante.

"I saw her, she ran." The blue-haired woman gasped, sending Gareon ahead to keep the trail fresh. Seeing her companion's amber orbs widen and fill with hope, she knew she didn't need to say who it was she had seen.

"Which way?" The auburn asked in a faltering voice, not daring to believe. Zhalia shot him a grin.

"Just follow Gareon- now, come on!"

* * *

><p>The pair raced down the alleyways of Venice, following the reptilian snarls of their unseen guide. Time and time again, they caught a flash of golden hair, and knew they were getting closer.<p>

A bright blur at the corner of Zhalia's eye was the only warning she got before a Raypulse made a blazing trail before her, two more following to turn the air before herself and Dante into a deadly barrier. When the fire had cleared, a group of men, no more than 10 in all, stood at the end of the street, blocking their path as easily as the Raypulse had.

A boy at the front, veiled in shadows and the obvious leader, raised a hand, and two men peeled off from the back. Dante growled with helpless anger, and clenched his hands into glowing Dragonfists. Zhalia stood by his side, eyes narrowed. She didn't recognize any of the team before them, and none of them recognized her, a rare thing. All the Organization suits knew her identity- Klaus's protegé, untouchable, and on a mission that could topple the Foundation once and for all. These people, whoever they were, weren't Organization, and by the way they had attacked them, it wasn't that hard to figure out that they weren't Foundation Seekers either.

Zhalia took a step back from her opponents, and tapped the russet-haired man's hand twice, a Seeker signal- "_Get ready to fight._" He answered with an imperceptible nod, and the fire around his hands grew brighter, feeding off his protective rage- it was clear that these people were after Loki too. Could these thugs be the reason Loki had left?

Eyes glinting from the darkness, the leader gave a soft laugh. "How cute. They think they can beat us to save their little friend." The thugs gave of low, grunting noises that might have been laughter in a pig, but in humans was just stupidity in a chuckle. The leader, one of the youngest there, clicked his fingers, and the laughter stopped. "Teach them a lesson, boys." White teeth flashed in a cocky grin. "I have a bounty to collect." Silence and movement in the shadows was the only inclination that he had gone.

Dante shifted on his feet, desperate to go after the teen, and the men's attention snapped back to the pair, eyes narrowing in the darkening gloom of the evening. Zhalia drew the auburn back with a gentle hand, having to stand on tip toe to whisper in his ear. "If we keep their attention here, there are less to go after Loki." Golden eyes, amber with anger and fear for the blonde, looked back, and their owner nodded once.

"Then let's keep it here, shall we?" Only a slight tremor in his voice showed how strongly he was fighting the urge to blast these men, these _animals_, into dust, to destroy them all till what was his was safe. Though he knew Loki would scoff at they way he thought about it, to him she was _his_, his daughter and friend and teammate all wrapped up into one.

Zhalia reaching into her thigh-pouch, judging her strength, and warning Gareon and Strix of the dangers to come. She barely stopped herself from jumping with surprise when the air nearby shimmered like heat, and the small lizard jumped onto her shoulder, growling and snarling, snapping at the group opposite and lashing his tail with frustration.

Deafening silence echoed on the cold air, before a loud bang broke it into jagged shards, a high, young scream coating them in black, dark fear. Dante felt his heart lurch, gathering his power, Raypulse hovering on his lips, when he realized something. The scream wasn't Loki- both he had Zhalia had heard it far too often to mistake it for another's. The cry that had filled the air mere moments before was male. The thugs paled, recognizing the voice, and some turned tail and fled, fearing a prey that could take out their strongest fighter in seconds more than they did the punishments that would befall them for desertion.

Footsteps echoed down the side-street, and a waft of autumn breeze brought the salty, damp smell of the canals- and the sickening, sweet stench of burning flesh. The boy that had left before, wild-eyed with pain, black hair mussed, staggered into view, face twisted with madness. "Get her." He ordered his team, low and dangerous, a command to be obeyed. "Get her NOW!" The leader screamed, pointing down the alley-way with what must once have been his hand, now a charred, ruined piece of mangled skin, blood and bone.

Dante felt the blood rush from his face, staring at the mutilated hand with a strange mix of fascination and horror. The Loki he knew could never hurt someone, not like this angry, violent attack, the evidence of which was staring him in the face. Zhalia stayed as she was, having seen much worse in her years as both a Foundation operative, and the Organization's best assassin.

Seeing his men falter, the boy narrowed his eyes, which gleamed like blood in his too pale face. "Scared? Don't be- she's out for the count." He growled. "I'll deal with these Foundation scumbags. Now go collect our bounty, before I take the weight of gold we'll be paid from your miserable flesh. Capiche?" Ruby eyes, pupils slanted like a snake, were filled with a deadly promise as he moved to stand alone before the Huntik pair. The thugs scattered like pigeons, running to find the girl they'd hunted for so long.

As soon as the men were out of sight, the boy met Dante's eyes with a cocky grin. "I'd love to stay and play a while, but I have better things to do. Vale, we'll meet again, and I'll make you pay for what your little _daughter_," He spat the word, hatred almost like a physical force in his voice. "Did. She's valuable, see, and I doubt I'd get the chance to see her again, where she's going." The boy's smile widened as his gaze fell on the blue-haired woman to his left. "And you, Lady Moon, I shall see very soon. Now, I've got to get going, as I have a meeting to attend."

Zhalia saw him slip a hand into his back pocket as he bowed to them, and opened her mouth to warn Dante, who was sneaking forwards to attack, when the boy called to the titan whose amulet he was now holding, filling the night sky with a hideous, winged snake, whose crimson eyes glinted in an exact match to its Seeker's. "Carry me forth, Shakrit!"

The Foundation operatives backed away, knowing the dragon's master by its name alone. "Wind..." The coffee-eyed double-agent whispered, fear in her eyes as she looked at Dante, the first time he had ever seen that emotion in her beautiful mocha orbs. "Leader of the Blood Spiral..." Gale-force winds blasted them back as the titan took to the air, Wind standing on its scaled head.

"Farewell, doomed ones!" He called to them, as he flew away, cradling his burned hand to his chest to protect it against the air currents, eyes narrowing as he saw something beyond them. "See you soon!"

Feeling hope sink in their hearts, the pair turned around, and found themselves face to face with burning, emerald fires. "I sensed Loki's energy flare." William Casterwill growled in way of an explination as he padded towards them, his footfalls as angry and graceful as a tiger's. "Now, would anyone like to explain to me why they were having a nice conversation with the leader of the group that _hunted my family into extinction_?"

* * *

><p>AN: Yep, you guessed it! In this story, Blood Spiral is a whole different thingy-ma-bob! I love tormenting these guys.<p>

Well done, you guessed it again. It's gonna get a whole lot worse for Dante and the team!


	44. Chapter 43 Captivated

AN: I forgot to mention- in this story, Wind looks like the pictures of the boy with black hair using purple, fire-like power in the season 2 trailer.

only one of his hands is mutilated...so...*awkward moment*

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 43- Captivated

Will looked between Dante and Zhalia, jade eyes filled with suspicion and distrust. "Well?" As Dante opened his mouth to answer, the teen tilted his head to one side, listening to something only he could hear. Motioning for the others to be silent, he put his hands together as if in prayer, green light blossoming around his joined palms, spreading to cover his entire body. The Casterwill was still for a moment before a frown briefly crossed his face and he released the power he had summoned.

Noticing the half-curious, half-worried looks he was receving from his mentor, the boy explained what he had done, playing with Sabriel's amulet as he spoke, looking into the distance. "Her energy flare lit up about five miles to the east." His eyes darkened to the colour of moss as Will's mouth curled into a sarcastic almost-smile. "Wind knows the Casterwill powers well, as do the rest of his twisted brotherhood, but I am stronger now then when I was five. He still thinks he is dealing with a child, and that five miles are beyond my range to sense." At a questioning look from golden eyes, the smirk on his face became a full-blown grin. "In truth, my limits are close on ten miles, and Loki's power is familiar to me now- I could sense it from about twice that distance, since I know her 'voice'."

Dante raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. Upon meeting his sworn enemy again for the first time in over ten years, Will had changed dramatically. No more was he the moody, studious teen whose only concern was to be a great Seeker. Instead, he was a warrior in a child's form, jade eyes adult in his young face. Loki's capture, and by the Blood Spiral of all people, had made him grow up fast. The brunette wouldn't lose another to Wind's hands. This time, he'd win.

The Casterwill, thinking hard, folded his arms across his chest against the bitter, winter cold. "Though in any other circumstances, your house would be a better base of operations, Dante." He turned away, eyes distant. "I think this time we should stay at mine. LeBlanche doesn't feel comfortable outside the house, and his contacts will be a valuable asset. Santiago's too."

The russet-haired padded over to his student. "What made you change your mind?" He asked softly, feeling the boy sag beneath the gentle hand he placed on his shoulder.

Will looked up into the amber orbs of his friend, his shoulders lifting. "You know the reason." He said with a wry grin, seeing something in Dante's eyes that he recognized in his own heart. "It just took me a bit longer to figure it out."

* * *

><p><em>An hour later<em>

Will opened his front door, ushering his companions inside. Cherit, looking around from his place on the boy's shoulder, couldn't help but be impressed by the grandeur of the mansion all over again. After deciding to follow the Casterwill's plan, Dante had contacted Solwing, who had in turn contacted the little, white titan. The ancient creature had met up with them a few streets from their destination, unusually quiet as his wide, grey eyes looked from human to human. Choosing to perch on Will's shoulder, he had remained silent, thinking back over what he knew of the Blood Spiral. It wasn't much, but there had to be something in his memories that would give them an edge.

LeBlanche greeted them in the hall, suit and hair as immaculate as always, bowing to his master and his friends. "Master William, Mr. Vale." He remained as impassive as ever, but Will, who knew him well, could tell he was shocked to be meeting the blue-haired woman beside Dante. "Miss Moon."

The blue-haired woman inclined her head to the greying butler, and he smiled at her before turning to his master. "I'm afraid I wasn't expecting you, Master William. If you could escort Mr. Vale and Miss Moon to the tea room, I shall be along shortly."

The brunette nodded, a rueful grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "I would appreciate that. If you could also find Santiago, and bring him to us, that would be of great help to me."

LeBlanche bowed once more before walking down one of the many corridors in the grand house. Zhalia raised an eyebrow. It was a wonder Will was as forward and... normal, if you could say that, as he was, growing up in a stifled, formal environment like this. Emerald eyes serious, the Casterwill led them down another corridor to the room he, Loki and Dante had gone to the first time they had visited.

Almost as soon as they arrived, LeBlanche appeared with a tray of tea, and a cup of coffee for Zhalia. The mocha-orbed Seeker didn't know how he knew she preferred it, but she wasn't about to argue- she _really _needed a caffeine-loaded mug of the stuff right now. "Santiago is on his way." The steel-eyed attendant murmured to his lord, and made to withdraw, but Will held up a hand to stop him.

"Stay." The word was a command, but the tone was pleading. "I need the help of people I can trust with this mission. I shall wait till Santiago arrives to explain- the matter is complicated, and I have no wish to explain it twice."

LeBlanche took the customary three steps back to stand behind his master, but there was pride in his voice when he replied. "I will be glad to give any assistance I can." A wistful glint shone in his grey eyes, and he thought to himself that the teen sounded very like his parents- he had that same aura of command and strength, that solid determination. The older man's family had served the Casterwill for generations, and he knew that from this noble tree, only a few did truly great things, and he had trained Will to be one of those that grew into something better than the rest. He knew that the boy had that spark of greatness in him, and that he would be a credit to the long, lengthy list of ancestors that began with Casterwill himself.

Santiago stepped from behind a pillar to the back of the room, his staff poking out from behind his head, walking over with silent footsteps to kneel before the brunette on the sofa. "My lord, you sent for me?"

"Sit down, both of you." The eastern man could tell it was serious at once- Will did not usually defy LeBlanche's preference for the old ways of service, where servants tended to their employers with diligence and reverence. "I will get to the point. Loki woke this morning, but is now in the hands of the Blood Spiral."

Dante leant forwards, knowing that it was now that his input was needed, and Zhalia did the same. They hadn't felt comfortable enough to say much before, as they had both had a terrible shock, and neither of them had ever had any experience in settings of higher class. "Will," He asked, face grave and eyes dark. "What do you know of the brotherhood? Apart from the rumors of what they do to those who cross them, not much has come my way in terms of real information." Zhalia kept quiet- her sources weren't exactly on the legal side, or the Foundation side for that matter...

The jade-orbed lad gave a savage smile. "The Blood Spiral brotherhood was originally an ancient order who allied themselves with the Nullifiers during the war, so as to gain power and immortality. When my ancestor defeated their protectors and benefactors, the group disbanded, some seeing the errors of their ways. But two, the high favorites of the Nullifiers, remained." His eyes narrowed.

"They were the only ones deemed worthy of the gifts of their lords. They are immortal, unless killed, and impervious to all but the curse of the Legendary Titans in way of illnesses. They swore revenge on my family so that they could open the way to their masters again. They were married, once, and I believe them to still be so. Their names are Shauna, and Rassimov."

LeBlanche, face as pale as his name, stared at his young ward with wide eyes. "Where did you learn this from? We have no books on the Blood Spiral- they were to be kept until you were ready..."

The boy sighed, and rubbed his temples. "Necessity forced my hand, LeBlanche. Believe me, I had no wish to go against my parents' orders." Looking up, he met Zhalia's eyes first, then Dante's. "Twelve years ago, in my family's house, fanatics of the new Blood Spiral attacked my home, setting fire to it with my parents and I still inside." His emerald eyes seemed to reflect a memory of those terrible flames, eating and devouring his entire life. "Santiago rescued me, and now he, LeBlanche and I are all that's left."

Dante bowed his head, thinking. "Then, if Rassimov and Shauna are members of the Blood Spiral, how is it that Wind came to be the leader?" Zhalia bared her teeth in a disgusted smile.

"I can answer that. There's been rumors that a new, powerful, pair of Seekers joined the Organization not long ago. They defeated all in their way till they were second only to the Professor himself."

Will's gaze snapped onto her. "Where did you learn this?" He asked, voice almost a snarl. Another mark against Zhalia's name added to the long list in his mind.

The woman smirked, playing with Gareon's amulet around her neck. "I have my sources. In any case, it would explain why they would hand over control to a trusted member... though I can't see why they would trust someone so young..."

The Casterwill sighed. "I can explain that. Wind is their son, which is why he is so trusted. But," He clasped his hands together, tapping his lip with two extended first fingers. "It is also his greatest weakness. As a human, although he has the immense power of his parents, he is mortal." The edges of his smile stretched beyond the fingers covering his mouth. "He can be hurt."

Dante grinned. "Then I think you're going to like what I have to tell you, Will..."

* * *

><p>With Zhalia's help, the auburn updated the trio before him of what had happened that evening. He tactfully left out his phone conversation with the blue-haired woman, a thing she was grateful for. God knows she didn't need another tally on the <em>'Why Zhalia is evil' <em>board.

Will leant back, eyes distant, lips pursed. "We can't tell Guggenheim. He'll just flood Venice with a load of lesser Seekers, and they'll mess up the hunt." Dante frowned.

"How will having help work against us?" He mused, and emerald eyes flickered over to him.

"Wind has people everywhere, and Venice is his head quarters. He'll notice if we get more Seekers in, and go underground. We'll lose our chance of finding him, and Loki." A bitter, predatory smile made the teen seem much older than his 17 years. "That rat is good at hiding."

Zhalia sighed, brushing some hair out of her eyes as she thought. "Would it be possible to infiltrate the Blood Spiral?" She asked out loud, thinking of her own abilities. The auburn beside her seemed to see what she was thinking, and immediately shook his head.

"It's too dangerous- we need all the help we can get here on the outside, and Wind will recognize any of us."

Will, surprisingly, agreed, turning to Santiago. "_We _can't get into the group, but I've been placing a few contacts around the city for a few years now. If I give you a list of their names and addresses, I'll need you to gather what information you can, along with any sources you and LeBlanche have of your own. Go to my desk, and open the second draw on the left side. There should be a small, black book inside. The contacts in Venice should be about halfway through."

The dark-haired man stood, and bowed once before picking up his staff. "As you wish, my lord. I shall be back as soon as I am able." He disappeared in a swirl of black smoke, leaving a husk smell and empty space behind him.

LeBlanche stood too, inclining his head to everyone in the room in turn before turning to his master. "It is getting late, Master Will, and I have matters to attend to. If I may...?" He left the question hanging as the brunette smiled and waved a hand.

"As you wish, LeBlanche. You are dismissed."

Dante gave his student a crooked grin. "Since when were you so formal, Will? You're not a bit like the boy I remember swearing because he was sea sick."

The teen blushed, and looked nervously over his shoulder. "Please don't tell LeBlanche that." He begged, turning back. "He's tried his best to raise me as a noble, and he gets a bit upset when I'm, well, not so noble." Zhalia scoffed.

"So, not only does the mighty Casterwill have a heart, but he has a rough side too? It's all too much to take in one day." She smiled at the end to show she didn't mean it, stretching with her arms behind her head. Will grinned, then stood with a wince as his joints popped and clicked.

"It's getting late." He murmured, looking at the tall, intricately carved Grandfather clock to one side of the room. "If you want, you can stay here tonight." When the others nodded, the emerald-eyed lad gave a small smile, said goodnight, then left to find LeBlanche.

Almost immediately, Zhalia turned to Dante with a skeptical, raised eyebrow. "Why did you let Will take charge?" She demanded, confused about the way the auburn had just sat back and watched. "You have much more experience at this kind of thing than he does- he's just a kid."

Solemn, gold eyes closed for a moment as their owner thought over what the blue-haired woman had said. "I did it," The russet-haired man began. "Because Will needs to do this." When Zhalia still looked confused, he explained what he meant. "Wind, and the Blood Spiral, took something precious from Will a long time ago- his parents, and his life as a initiated Casterwill noble." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose against the frustrated headache that he could feel coming on. "Will needs to do this because, this time around, he's strong and capable enough to get back what they stole from him."

Zhalia gave a soft laugh. "I don't think Loki would like being seen as one of his possessions." Dante smiled weakly back.

"You know, you might be right there."

Amber eyes looked out the window to the sky, golden pinpricks of starlight the only thing breaking the endless darkness. Unknown to them all, in the ruins of old, filled in canals, and forgotten sewer ways, azure eyes mapped the same stars into their mind, bars of light broken by the bars of her cell window casting stripes of bright moonlight and dark shadows onto Loki's face.

She sighed and looked away, back to the chains wrapped around her wrists. She glared at them, hating being trapped more than anything, and looked to the floor instead. Those stupid, magic handcuffs, made using a tablet with the Casterwill power Breakspell, stopped her from using her magic, from blasting the door and escaping. It seemed she would have to wait for her moment to strike, if one ever came. A small smile crept across her face, unbidden. Puzzles took patience- she could wait this out, of that she was certain. But still...

The blonde remembered Zhalia's face when they had seen each other- shocked, disbelieving, but her coffee-coloured eyes held a strange sort of hope. Sitting on the floor, Loki curled up, tucking her knees under her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. They wouldn't try to find her if they knew the truth- they'd run as far away as they could, or just stay still, that same look on their faces. Shock, disbelief, but that hope would wither and die, killed by who, no, _what _she was. A single tear fell down the girl's cheek.

She still couldn't help but hope that they would come.

"Guys," She thought.

"Loki," Dante thought.

_"Where are you?"_

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry, but due to the snow, signal is gonna be patchy at my house over the next few weeks. SORRY.<p>

Also, Merry Christmas from me, Loki and the gang!


	45. Chapter 44 Trials and Tribulations

AN: Sorry! The beginning of this new year has been so busy, so hetic, I haven't had any time to write, and even less time with internet! I will do my best to write faster, and fix that bedammed internet of mine!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 44- Trials and Tribulations

Dawn rose bright and clear, banishing the darkness and misery that clung to the black night. Only Will was awake to see it light the morning sky, dark bags that would not be banished so easily lingering under his emerald eyes. The Casterwill had not slept well the night before, tossing and turning, his young mind filled with restless dreams of his missing friend. Now an air of despair and hopelessness surrounded him as he tried to lose himself in work at the tea room table. In truth, his mind remained fixated on the one dream he could remember.

* * *

><p><em>He was walking with Loki through the streets of Venice, a thing not<em>_ that unusual to the pair when they were bored. The blonde had, grinning, made a challenge of some sort, a race back to Dante's house, the usual ending to their curious wanderings around the city's streets and canals._

_She'd ran around a corner before Will could reply, and the brunette quickly followed, but when he entered the alley where Loki had gone, she was already at the other end, taunting him and not a bit out of breath. Smiling, mouth set in a laughing, determined line, the Casterwill made chase, but he could never catch her. The azure-eyed girl was always just that bit further than he could reach, his fingertips just brushing her hair or her shirt._

* * *

><p>When he woke after a night of running through the streets, feeling more tired then when he had gone to sleep, that feeling of endless searching and reaching for something beyond his grasp still clouded his mind, dampening his spirits and dimming the determination in his jade orbs.<p>

The sound of footsteps jolted Will out of his thoughts, just before Dante padded round the corner. He stopped, stunned, for a moment, then sat next to his student with a crooked grin on his face. "Couldn't sleep?" The auburn asked, voice tinged with concern.

The brunette shrugged, picking up a pile of papers and avoiding the question. Gold eyes filled with worry and sadness, Dante gave the boy his privacy, turning to the map of Venice that was spread out on the table. "What did your contacts tell you?" The russet-haired man murmured after a moment's silence. Will sighed, looking over.

"Not much. A few people said they saw a girl of her description running through Venice, but we already knew most of what they told us. I haven't got all the reports in yet, so there's still a chance that someone saw her."

Dante nodded, pleased and hopefully, the pain and worry that was wound up in his chest loosening slightly. The jade-eyed teen was handling the situation much better than he'd hoped, for all the news wasn't good.

A soft breeze was all that heralded Santiago's return, and the dark-haired man appeared at his master's side in a billow of black smoke. He made to bow, but Will waved a hand, impatient for his servant's news. Dark eyes met emerald before softening. Santiago had sworn to protect the young Casterwill from harm, and this made him reluctant to be the bearer of such bad news.

"I have one sighting of her." He said in his clipped, quiet voice. "One of your men saw her being transported to a sewer entrance. No others saw her, and the contact hasn't seen her since."

Dante put his head in his hands, feeling crushing defeat weighing down on his shoulders. "He's gone underground." Will grinned at him, emerald eyes filled with excitement. Golden eyes looked up, confused, and the Casterwill's smile turned savage.

"Not in the way we might expect. Wind has just revealed his base, the one that I've been searching for since I came to Venice. The only thing under Venice are the sewers... and the abandoned canals."

The trio bent their heads over the map on the table as Will picked up a red pen and drew on, from memory it seemed, the curving, flowing lines of the unmarked, unused canals that the Blood Spiral had made their own. Serious brown eyes watched from the doorway, but Zhalia did not dare go any closer, some irrational fear that the emerald-eyed lad would see how guilty she was holding her back.

Her crime?

Klaus had phoned again, and she had answered. His cold, dead voice sliding down her back like a snake, to curl in her belly as knotted fear, what he asked of her was almost unspeakable to the blue-haired Seeker, but she knew that she had to do it. After all, her grandfather could find and dispose of her in mere moments if he so chose, and after Ireland, he wasn't happy. This was probably her last chance to save her skin, but it would mean sacrificing another's.

Loki's.

She could almost see his cruel smile as he gave his orders, wrinkled, harrowed face as filled with evil and malicious intent as the blonde's was with goodness, decency and light. How could she chose between them? Two words were all it took.

"Yes, Grandfather."

Zhalia fought to stay calm as she finally padded into the room. As they planned their mission to rescue Loki, she made her own to make sure she stayed a prisoner.

* * *

><p>A sigh echoed around the small, cramped cell, its occupant dropping another mangled hair clip to the cold, stone floor. Loki looked at the twisted piece of metal with disgust. It was just her luck that the manacles were spelled against anything but the key, something she was never going to get her hands on without getting rid of the Deadcalm cuffs. The blonde rubbed her temples, frustrated. It was a paradox, a puzzle with no answer, and she hated them at the best of times, but now...<p>

She sighed again, refusing to let the tears she felt building up behind her eyes show to any watching- of which she was sure there were many. She knew they were watching her every move, following their valuable prize with their eyes as she paced back and forth. She felt like a particularly disgusting insect, horror and fascination compelling these thugs to gaze upon her. They knew she was powerful, knew that if (and it was a big if) she could get the shackles off, she'd be out of there in a moment and there would be nothing that could do to stop her. Loki herself was only just beginning to understand the limit of her powers, or rather, the endless strength she had within her. It raged in her heart, a restless tiger that made her skin itch and crawl as it strove to break free.

Footsteps ringing down the hall was the only warning she got before a boy with black hair and ruby eyes burst into her cell, clicking his fingers and summoning a length of chain from the wall to connect to her shackles, stopping her coming any closer to the teen.

Blue eyes burning with cobalt fire, teeth bared in a vicious snarl of hatred and disgust, Loki fought to keep her fear off her face as her stare was met with one of equal fury in the teen's crimson orbs, as dark and loathsome as blood, an odor that seemed to cling about the boy like a warning to all who came near- doing so was at their own peril.

Almost cautiously, shielding his left hand behind his leg, a glimmer of fear in his eyes that was quickly hidden, the stranger advanced. The blonde stayed perfectly still, waiting. Though she couldn't fight with her magic, she wasn't about to lie down and let these people walk all over her either. _One step closer_, she thought. _Come on, come on..._

There! The boy stepped within range, and Loki lashed out with her nearest foot, aiming for the hand that he was trying to protect, an obvious weak point, just like Dante had taught her. The raven-haired teen jumped back, hissing and clutching his hand to his chest, eyes filled with pain and rage in equal measure. The thug at the door made to come to his fellow's aid, but the boy stopped him with a shake of his head, and the man retreated. Their prisoner narrowed her eyes. Since when did a grown man take orders from a boy?

"There are times when I think you're more trouble than you're worth, you know?" The boy said, his voice soft and friendly. Loki tensed, suspicious, as he continued. "First, you lead my men in a merry chase about this fair city," The blonde filed that away in the back of her mind, keeping her face expressionless. She was still in Venice, and that was a start. "Then, you defeat my two best fighters, who are still in the hospital by the way-"

This, along with the reproachful look and chastising tone that went with it, was too much for the girl's frayed nerves, and she laughed, throwing her head back, eyes shining with a mocking light. "Oh, I feel for them, I really do." She jeered, looking at the teen with narrowed, hate-filled eyes. "It must be so terrible. Send them my greatest sympathy, will you?"

Red eyes glinted with mirth, and a slight smile tugged at the corners of the boy's mouth before he continued as if she hadn't said a word. "And then, to make matters worse, you go and burn my hand." He pulled back his shirt sleeve to show her the mangled piece of flesh, and she replied with a vicious smile. The teen sighed, as if upset by her apparent bad behaviour. "Well, the Professor wasn't wrong when he said you were a wild child, was he?" He murmured, as if to himself. Loki froze, the mere mention of the one-eyed man chilling the blood in her veins and sending terror lancing into her heart. The boy smiled properly this time, tilting his head to one side with false concern on his face. "Oh, that's right, you don't like the Professor, do you?"

This time, the girl stayed silent, and crimson eyes gleamed with pleasure at her fear, before the boy padded closer. "Ah, but how rude I've been! We were never properly introduced, were we?"

Loki shook her head mutely, silently pleading in her head for this black-souled youth to be allied with any other man then he, the Professor, that evil, heartless devil who had twice invaded her inner sanctum in search of _something_. The boy offered his hand to her, as if to shake hands, then pretended to notice the shackles about her wrists and drew back again, instead bowing with a flourish that befitted royalty.

"I am Wind." He announced with flair, obviously expecting a reaction of some sorts. The blonde laughed softly, thinking to herself that this was an odd position indeed. Here, she was powerless, and not just in the sense that she had no power. To the puzzle-solving girl, knowledge was more powerful then anything, and that was also something she was lacking. She didn't know where she was, what time it was, or even who had captured her beyond the fact his name was Wind.

The boy narrowed his blood-red eyes at her, rage swirling in their ruby depths, and Loki quickly came up with an excuse for her laughter. Better that he think she were laughing at him then herself. Better to hide her ignorance.

"Is Wind your name, or simply what you have?" She jeered, azure eyes glimmering with hate and malice. "It certainly smells like you are Wind!"

Faster than the human eye could follow, his hand shot forward like a viper, grabbing her neck and slowly constricting. "Fool!" He spat at her, teeth bared like a wild creature. "Don't you know the name of the most powerful Seeker in the world?"

Loki smiled at him through the pain. "Yeah, I do." She managed to say, gasping for breath. "It's Dante Vale. Or Zhalia Moon. Or William Casterwill." Wind tightened his grasp on her neck before throwing her to the floor, advancing with murder in his eyes. His target refused to be afraid, refused to be a victim. "After all," She continued slowly. "I know them well enough to know that any of them could beat you in a fight-"

The devilish boy growled something in a voice so inhuman, she couldn't make it out, though it might have been: "No Casterwill can face the might of the Blood Spiral and live. Why do you think they're all dead?"

A step too close, and she brought her leg around in a wide semi-circle, taking his feet out from under him and sending him crashing to the floor, landing painfully on his chest. Before he could move, the girl was knelt beside him with one knee on his back, the chain between her manacles around his throat. "You didn't kill them all!" She whispered in his ear. "And now, as I'm guessing your the one responsible for Will's parents' _murder_, he'll hunt you down and kill you in return. You've given yourself away by catching me." Loki pulled the chain tighter around his neck, and he gave an odd croak. "But then again, maybe he won't have to kill you..."

Wind's red eyes filled with true, absolute terror for the first time, possibly in his life.

"Because I have you right here, right now, and whilst this chain's around your neck, you can't use Seeker powers either. You're just as trapped as me."

But it was too late. Wind's croak had alerted his thug guard that something had gone wrong, and thick, strong arms lifted Loki up and away from the fallen devil. He sat up, twisting to look at her whilst rubbing his throat, she smiled as she was held in the air. "Next time, I won't wait so long to finish you." She warned, her voice bright and playfully, eyes sparking with danger.

"Next time?" He snarled at her, standing shakily. "The next time you see me, or daylight, again, you'll be on your way to the Organization. You!" The teen snapped his fingers imperviously to the guard holding Loki. "Take her to the Pit. It may teach her some manners."

And as she was dragged away, the blonde forced herself to laugh, knowing that if she didn't, the fear would overwhelm her so completely that she'd never find herself in that terrible darkness again.

* * *

><p>Will jumped as he heard footsteps on the old stairs behind him, quickly wiping tears from his cheeks. The boy had gone to the roof of his canal-side home, a place that few knew there was a way to, and even fewer could actually reach, to be alone. Unfortunately, it seemed that someone had interrupted his solitude. Emerald eyes turned to meet coffee as Zhalia stood hesitantly in the doorway, unsure as to whether or not she should enter.<p>

"I didn't know anyone else came up here." She said at last, in way of an explanation. Will gave a small half-grin.

"Not many do." He turned back to the view of the canals, and Zhalia padded over to sit next to him. The pair sat in silence, neither willing to speak and break it, till the blue-haired woman tilted her head to look at him, studying the boy with her mocha orbs.

"How you holding up?" The older Seeker murmured quietly, feeling torn at the mere thought of asking- she was going to destroy the Casterwill's hope, break him like bones under King Basilisk's feet. Where Loki was being taken, there was no way to free her...

The brunette gave a bitter laugh. "Do you want the truth, or the people-friendly version?"

Zhalia sighed. "That bad?"

He shook his head, getting up and walking away with slumped shoulders and tears glimmering, unshed, in his emerald eyes. "Worse. Worse than you could ever imagine." Will stopped at the door, holding it open whilst turning to look back at the woman he once wouldn't have even talked to, but was now confessing his most secret feelings. "I can't live without her."

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><p>AN: I don't hate Will, in fact it is quite the opposite, and yet I can't stop making him depressed and all dead without Loki... I am so mean!<p> 


	46. Chapter 45 Dying Twilight

AN: Sorry it's been so long. My life has been pretty messed up lately, and everytime I've actually had time to sit down and write, I've ended up writing some tragic death scene for one or more of the characters. I gave up for a while, because it became clear I'd have to sort my on life out before I tried writing about theirs. Things are better now, so Loki and the gang have made a comeback, and won their battle against my writer's block.

Enjoy, and hopefully more will be on the way soon

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 45- Dying Twilight

Back and forth, the pacing of a restless boy, the endless swinging of a clock pendulum, both counting down to the vital moment when all hell would break forth, and the world righted. The hole missing in the team would be filled, the light in their eyes switched back on, their smiles brought back. A violent surge of emotions left Will with little breath and tears in his eyes that were quickly brushed away.

Loki was out there somewhere, waiting. Her silent calls for help, desperate thoughts she was only half aware of, kept tugging at the fringes of his mind like a child plucking at his elbow.

Sitting back down on his chair, it was only a few seconds before he got up again, unable to keep still. Dante, who was sitting across from the teen, sighed, worried for his young friend. Cherit leapt into the air from where he was perched on the sofa arm, and flew to curl around Will's neck. "The time will come when it comes." He said wisely, his croaking, hoarse voice strangely comforting in the tense atmosphere of the pre-rescue wait. "Time will not hurry or halt for anything."

The boy patted Cherit's head absent-mindedly, mind focusing on the task ahead. The little creature sighed, sensing a lost cause in trying to calm the brunette, and flew back to the sofa, curling up on the seat with his tail-tip twitching between his paws.

Zhalia glanced over from her place by the window, watching the setting of the sun with anxious, brown eyes. "He's right, you know." She called, turning to lean against the frame. "If you work yourself into a frenzy now, you'll just be a dead weight."

Suprisingly, that coax Will into calming his nerves enough to sit down and wait patiently. Emerald eyes fixed on the sun through the window, he drummed his fingers in a furious, impatient beat as he waited for it to set. Why, the one time he wanted night to come faster, it didn't? He sighed, and rested his head in his hands. Every moment they wasted waiting, Loki was in the hands of the Blood Spiral, and who knew what they were doing to her?

The Casterwill quickly shook his head. Thinking like that would do him no good, and he had to stay calm as Santiago had taught him. He had to control his nerves in order to fight to his true potential. He held his head in his hands. What was the use? He was in too deep, too involved, to think clearly about this! How could he detach himself when he _was_ attached?

A gust of black smoke, billowing into the shape of a man before disappearing to reveal Santiago, snapped Will out of his frantic worrying. "Is it time?" He asked, throat tight with nerves, making his voice sound much calmer than he felt. The dark-haired servant nodded once, taking his staff from its place on his back, and holding it lightly in his hand, balanced and prepared for battle. Even though he knew he was to stay behind, and to only come if the tide turned against them, he wouldn't spend that time idly.

The young noble was on his feet in an instant, Sabriel's amulet glinting as her master's mind filled with thoughts of battle. "Let's go, then. We've wasted enough time already." Dante, a grim smile playing at his lips, stood, his lithe form like a tiger on the hunt. Zhalia padded over to the team with feline grace, her hips swaying from side to side, swinging the amulets tied to her belt. Her delicate fingers gently brushed each one, readying them for the fight ahead. The russet-haired Seeker led the way to the streets, heading for the spot on the map he'd memorized before leaving- an entrance to the Old Canals. Though they knew all the ways into Wind's secret base would be well guarded, it was the only solution. They couldn't wait till the Blood Spiral emerged again. By then, it could well be too late.

Dante reached down to remove the grate blocking their way to the sewers, but a shield of purple-red light appeared before his hands, forcing him back. Will stepped forth, emerald eyes dark with anger- this was wasting time!- then placed his hands on the barrier. "Breakspell!" Blue magic streamed from his hands to cover the grate in sapphire pearls, before disappearing. The Casterwill turned to his teammates. "That should do it." A flash of white teeth against the darkening streets was Dante's reply, before he took the grate in his hands, calling forth a Dragonfist to lend him strength.

* * *

><p>Together, the trio of vengeful Seekers descended into the sewers, silent as ghosts, ears pricked and eyes peeled. No words were spoken, and yet the team knew exactly what each other was thinking- Where were the Blood Spiral agents that Will's contacts had so adamantly said were here? Were they lurking around the corner, Augerfrosts charged in their hands, ready to blast an unaware victim? Will had a feeling that the answer would come to them soon enough.<p>

Silence reigned supreme in the dark underworld, the only sound their steady, even breaths. Dante led the way, walking with a confidence none of them felt, eyes stretched wide to see everything they could, however fruitless it was. His cautious scanning was the only thing that kept them all alive, when disaster struck.

The only warning was the faintest of rumblings, a soft patter of dust falling from the ceiling, and then the world collapsed into darkness, rock, and thunderous noise. Dante, his russet hair turned grey with dust, leapt back, pulling Zhalia with him, but was too slow to grab Will with his other hand. Emerald eyes filled with a frightening determination, the boy ran forwards into the crashing debris, and quickly vanished amongst the tumbling rocks and chunks of age-old stone.

Before either could chase after the Casterwill child, the avalanche came to an end, and the dust settled to reveal their way in, their only way in, was blocked off with a pile of rocks no man, or titan, would be shifting in a hurry. Struck dumb with shock and helplessness, clenching and unclenching his hands into fists, fiery anger, both at himself for his failure as a leader and at his brunette ward for being so recklessly stupid, burned in Dante's amber orbs as he found himself behind a stone barricade, unable to save his friends again.

To his surprise, it was Zhalia who called out first, unafraid of whether she would receive a reply or death-filled silence. "Will!" She hammered on the rocks with one delicate fist. "Will!" Dante joined her voice with hers, but no answer came.

Then, so quiet they could hardly hear, as if from a great distance away. "Guys! I'm okay!" Zhalia huffed to herself- she was not a guy!- and vowed never to let herself get so emotional about that upper-class brat again. The russet-haired man beside her let out a sigh of relief.

"Will, try and find your way back! We'll find another way in!"

The answer was immediate, and decisive. "No! We both know there isn't another way in, Dante. I'm not giving up on Loki! I'll meet you on the surface when I've found her." Both adults left behind could almost see the stubborn, angry scowl he'd have on his mulish face, pulling down his mouth into a disapproving frown, and darkening his jade eyes with bitterness.

Dante tried to reason with him, calling out to the boy, but no more voices came from beyond the stone, and they knew he had gone, alone, into the belly of the beast.

* * *

><p>Azure eyes shot open, wide with fear and confusion. A deep rumbling filled the air of her dark prison, a great clashing and crashing of rock and stone, before fading back into the silence she had grown almost used to. Looking around, Loki frowned, not remembering falling asleep. As she sat there, searching her memories for an answer as the chill of her dark, dank prison- little more than a tall hole, probably made to be a ventilation shaft- buried itself deep in her bones, the blonde eventually gave up trying to remember. There had been many blanks like this in her mind for the past few... What was it though? Here underground, what felt like years to her could be just days, weeks, or maybe even minutes. It was a worrying thought.<p>

Standing, wanting to be ready for any threats, she absent-mindedly rubbed her arms to keep warm. A twinge at the back of her mind warned her something was wrong, but it took her sleep addled brain a few minutes to work it out. Needing to confirm it with her eyes, the teen gazed with detached curiosity at the inside curve of her elbow. Lying along it in an almost straight line, were a series of marks. She frowned, rubbing her temples to try and get rid of the headache pounding behind her eyes, slowly piecing together the signs- the marks, her foggy brain, clumsiness and uncoordinated a sick, hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach, she finally realized what it was. Needle-marks. Puncture wounds.

Sedatives.

They'd been _drugging_ her.

Loki shuddered, disgusted. Being in care, she'd seen the damage drugs could do, and avoided them even when they were necessary. She knew that if her captors- Wind's men, a voice at the back of her mind said- continued to use it, her body would become dependent. Even if she did manage to escape, she wouldn't get far. Maybe that was their aim.

For a while, she just stood there, trying to take it all in and failing somewhat. She'd always thought that if she could get the manacles off- and they were still there, clinking annoyingly whenever she moved- she'd be home and dry.

Now, she wasn't so sure...

In the silence, she listened long and hard to her thoughts, but couldn't think of anything, so instead turned her senses outwards. At the very edge of her hearing, Loki could just make out two voices, male, middle aged, and rather slow, muttering to each other.

"I can't believe we're stuck on guard duty for Wind's pet." The blonde gritted her teeth. Pet! _Pet! _She was no one's pet! The other man's reply cut her off mid mind-rant.

"Won't stay Wind's for long. Its payday for the blonde's bounty." A low whistle echoed down the hole.

"Is the Professor coming personally? Doesn't seem like the type to get his hands dirty, if ya ask me."

"Naw, those high-ups don't do it themselves no more. He sent one of his right-hand men, though. Must be important."

"What? The little brat down there? She's easy on the eyes, I'll give her that, but what would the Organization want with her?"

"Didn't you see Wind's hand? She beat him in a one-on-one fight. Burned him good." Another low whistle, shakier than the first. The listener was scared.

"She's no more than a girl! How could she beat Wind? Tell you what, I'm glad she's drugged, now you've told me that. Makes me glad the shift changes in half an hour, and all." A chuckle rang out.

"Yeah, same here. Not a girly you'd wanna meet down a dark alley, for all she looks sweet."

Down in the darkness, Loki shivered, a mixture of fear and cold that made her shake. She looked down at her hands, trembling and making her shackles jingle, and forced herself to stop. It was better that these men were scared of her, than know she was scared of herself too. In any case, she had to get free now- she couldn't let fear stand in her way, or the Professor would finally meet her, in person, not in mind.

With this decision made, a strange clarity came to her, and she clenched her hands into fists. The azure-eyed Seeker reached into her mind, searching for that terrible power she possessed. Maybe it could break those stupid manacles! As soon as she tried to pass the wall that separated that other part of her from the rest of her mind, pain flared around her neck, flooding through her body in a wave of agony, tearing her thoughts into disordered chaos, leaving her crying and shaking on the floor of her dark, cold cell.

* * *

><p>Will froze, recognising the flare of blue that fluttered by the fringes of his mind. Crouching in a deserted corridor, trying to disappear into the shadows, he allowed his senses to spread out, locating the source, locating Loki, before standing with renewed determination in his jade orbs and running along the hall.<p>

"Hold on Loki, I'm coming!"

* * *

><p>When the pain had died down enough for the blonde to open her eyes, Loki wished she hadn't bothered. The walls around her had been burned with an intense flame, scorching grey stone into blackened hunks of smoking mess. Dreading what she would see, blue eyes turned upwards to the small chink of light that marked the entrance of her cell.<p>

A mangled arm, the skin peeling of in red strips, unmoving and deathly still, lay sprawled across the bottom of the bars.

Her guards were dead. She'd killed them, murdered them without a second's warning.

Loki retched, bending double with her hands over her mouth as the scent of cooked flesh floated down to her. What had she done? _What had she __**done**_?

Finally managing to regain control of herself, the teen looked up the distance to the cell door, wondering how she was going to get there without her magic. It was with a certain numbness that she realized her shackles had been reduced to dust -_blasted away like the men upstairs, destroyed like you destroyed them_, a voice whispered insidiously at the back of her mind- and there was nothing stopping her from escaping. Calling on a Hyperstride to cover her legs with blue, she leapt up, landing beside the twisted corpses that no longer resembled anything even close to human. Battling her rebellious stomach, she turned and ran down the corridor, never looking back.

Eyes filled with horrified tears, the sapphire-orbed girl could barely see where she was going, and rounded a corner to crash into another warm body. Struggling, lashing out a punch to catch the person's chin, she was surprised to be pulled into a desperate hug, to feel the coldness of tears on the face she had punched, and stopped, stunned, as he fervently whispered her name.

"_Loki._"

"Will?"

The teens pulled back to look at each other, to search for harm, to see how they had changed even in this short time. The Casterwill, caked in rock dust, had a new anxiety in his eyes that was disappearing even now, as he held her in his arms and felt her heart beat thrum against his finger tips. It was Loki who was different, her eyes hunted and filled with self-disgust, her mouth a thin white line that spoke of fear, and a strange, sad beauty that made her seem older than her years wrapped around her like a shroud.

"How did you find me?" The blonde's voice was a whisper, a mere shadow of herself, and Will knew there and then he would do anything to make her smile again.

"I'm not completely without my uses, you know." He smiled, reassuring and safe, but Loki didn't return the gesture, breaking his heart that bit more. "Come on, we're not out of the woods yet." He took her hand, and she let him, following him down the hall as they ran to freedom- not quite sure, so uncertain and scared, hardly daring to believe that it was him, not wanting to let herself hope and then wake up back in that cold, soul-crushing prison.

Together they ran, Will leading the way, trying to bring up from the dredges of his mind the map they had made back at his house, a rough estimate of what the Blood Spiral base should look like. The nearest supposed exit was nowhere near here, and Loki's knowledge of the base was even worse than his.

Suddenly, startling them both, a bright clashing of noise that filled their eyes with a nameless fear. Alarm bells ringing both in their heads and in their ears, they ran, knowing the hunt for the escapee had begun.

* * *

><p>AN: Again, I'm sorry for being gone so long, and hopefully this will tide you over whilst I finish sorting myself out. Till next time. ;)<p> 


	47. Chapter 46 Reviving Dawn

AN: And here is the last enstallment of my original content before we go back to the series. Don't be upset- did you really think I'd not follow the episodes through to the fantastic finale? Wait and see my version! ^.^

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 46- Reviving Dawn

The only sound their beating hearts, their rasping breath as both of them fought past their exhaustion. The alarm bells now only in their minds, the teens raced down corridors, hurtled past doors that might lead to freedom, but probably led to captivity. Will was beginning to panic, keeping it quietly to himself so as not to scare the silent girl beside him. The plan he had made of the base was nowhere near the reality, the twisting passageways making a seemingly endless maze that he couldn't figure out. Without help, they'd be trapped here forever...

Suddenly, Loki raced past him, grabbing his hand and turning sharply into an abandoned dead-end. The Casterwill made to protest, but the sound of boots marching caught his attention, and he span around to see a group of Blood Spiral thugs charging past the end of the hall.

"Will," The blonde's voice was ghost-soft, scared and child-like. "We're lost, aren't we?" The brunette looked at her helplessly, not wanting to admit he had failed her again, and the two stared at each other for what seemed like an age before he bowed his head in shame.

"Yes."

He waited for her to scold him, to tease him, to do anything that the flaxen-haired teen might have once done, but the silence was broken only by a soft whimper. Will's head snapped up, jade eyes filled with fear as Loki slid to the floor, her head in her hands, biting her lip against a sudden pain that went shooting through her mind like a burning knife. Unable to do anything, he held her against him as she shook, whispering meaningless comforts, and pushing back his fear.

* * *

><p><em>A large room, an office, filled with dark artifacts from long-forgotten wars, a cold and forbidding place. She was on one side of a black, mahogany desk, and Wind was on the other side, ruby eyes filled with a morbid curiosity as a suit whispered in his ear. "Two dead, and the cell destroyed?" The suit nodded. "Oh well, dispose of the bodies. Find the girl." His voice was casual, but authority filled every syllable. The suit left, and the coal-haired boy turned his gaze to Loki, or rather, a point about a meter above her.<em>

_"Well Klaus, if she is truly what The Professor say she is, then Miss. Lambert is doing nothing to prove him wrong. Her powers are extraordinary. She was wearing one of your own Deadcalm handcuffs, and yet, here we are, looking for an escapee." Loki froze- why was he talking to someone else, who was Klaus, what was going on, how had she gotten here?- and a dark, dry voice stilled her thoughts._

_"Yes, she is strong, but how can you assure me that you ever had the girl?" The voice held a threatening promise, the age-withered hand that drummed softly on the desktop hold more than mere impatience. "Proof is necessary, Wind."_

_The boy gave a mock-hurt look, a sly cunning lighting up his eyes. "You have all the proof you need. You got what you needed from her in Ireland- use it. Surely it can tell you where she is?"_

_The wrinkled hand paused, the owner laughing with an almost delicious evil before continuing the beat of fingers against wood. "That may be true, but she has been troublesome. Miss. Lambert is not going to be as easy to crack as The Professor thought. He needs her body and soul to make her bow to his will." _

_The hand stopped, sudden and unexpected, before reaching for the spot where Loki was, clasping a sort of bubble around her and lifting her up, up to see the face of the old man. Weathered by age, time had made her mark on the cruel visage, but the eyes were as bright and quick as a man half his age. "She's here, she's listening!" The eyes seared into her own, and Loki felt her heart flutter with fear, before she was spiraling away, down into darkness..._

* * *

><p>She opened her eyes with a gasp, clutching Will's hand. "We need to move, now!" Emerald eyes filled with confusion, the Casterwill's questions died on his lips as he saw her wide, scared eyes, filled with some unearthly knowledge, something other that he couldn't understand. "There's someone here, he has a way to track me- we need to move!" Loki grabbed his hand, tugging him to his feet even as she leapt to her own, racing away.<p>

"What did you see?" The jade-eyed boy managed to ask between ragged breaths, and for a moment he thought the blonde hadn't heard him, but then she spoke in a great outpour, a chaotic jumble of words and feelings that she herself didn't understand.

"A room, no, Wind's office. He was talking to an old man, Klaus, and he knew I was there. He sensed me, and I don't know how, but it was like I was there and not there, I couldn't move..." Loki trailed off into frightened silence, and Will took the lead again as she faltered.

"We can figure it out later. I promise, I'll help you." Their eyes met for a moment, and he saw how his words relieved her, some of her fear abating at the knowledge she wasn't alone.

They ran in silence for a moment, before Loki skidded to a halt. "There was a map on the wall!" Hope lit up both their eyes, and the first smile Will had seen since they found each other flickered at the corners of the blonde's mouth.

"Do you know where we are?" Nodding slowly, azure eyes looked inwards to that vague memory.

"There were two entrances- the main one, and a small side entrance through the canals. We're better taking the small entrance- to get to the main one we have to go by Wind's rooms."

Will looked embarrassed for a moment. "Urm...The side-exit might be out of commission..."

Loki narrowed her eyes at him. "Wi-ill..." She folded her arms across her chest, lengthing that one syllable into something playfully dangerous and threatingly teasing. "Is there something you forgot to mention to me?"

"That was the way I got in, and the Blood Spiral kinda...set of an avalanche to close the tunnel behind me..." He winced at her angry, worried glare, but in his heart he was glad to see her acting herself again.

"So that's why you came alone!" She shook her head, blonde locks swaying gently as she sighed. "The main entrance it is then. This way!" Taking his hand again, the pair fled into the dark and twisted corridors, searching for the light at the end of the tunnel.

* * *

><p>Emerald eyes, bright in the relative gloom of the hallway, peered around a corner. "Coast clear!" Though he whispered, his voice cut through the silence like a knife. Taking Loki's hand again, Will darted around the bend and along the corridor before ducking into another alcove.<p>

"Where are we now?"

The blonde closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating, before biting her lip. "Wind's office is just around the corner. After that, the exit is left, and down a long passage." She bowed her head. "I think."

Will rested a hand on her shoulder, grinning recklessly. "I trust you. Now, come on!" He took hold of her again and made to run, but she stopped him, fear and wariness in her azure orbs.

"We can't just run past!" She warned, shaking her head and sending her hair all over the place. "Will, Wind is still in there! He'll hear us..."

The Casterwill's eyes turned cold and hard as stone. "Let him hear. His end has been long enough in coming. Besides," He smiled, and was Will again. "You beat him last time."

Loki bit her lip again, and her companion felt a flare of anger rise in his throat. This hesitant, anxious girl was a shade of the one he had lost. Whatever those...thugs had done to her, William would make them pay, and pay dearly.

A quiet, shamed voice made his pause mid-thought, and he turned to look at the gold-haired girl with horrified amazement. "I didn't beat him... I near killed him- I had no control! Please, don't ask me to use my magic again..." She was on the verge of tears, scared of herself, and the brunette pulled her close, whispering to her.

"Okay then, we'll sneak past then." Keeping his hand in his, Will turned the corner, keeping low, his steps small and soft and silent. Behind him, and to the side, Loki was doing her best to copy him, but her imprisonment and the race through the maze of the Blood Spiral Base that had followed had left her weak, and clumsy.

Just as they reached the end of the corridor, she tripped and had to brace herself noisily against the wall to save herself from falling. For a breathless moment, the pair stared into each other's eyes, waiting, praying.

Then all hell broke loose.

The door at the far side of the hall crashed open, and the black-haired devil that lay within stormed out, furious and deadly. Crimson eyes landing on the Huntik duo, he raised his hand. "Darkarrow!" Red darts flew from his palm to embed themselves in the wall around the teens' heads. Crying out in fear and shock, Loki scrabbled backwards, grabbing Will's hand and turning around to pelt for the exit, so near and yet so very far.

More spells exploded the walls around them, and the blonde tripped, falling this time, before rolling out of the way of another arrow. Will yanked her to her feet, pulling her down the corridor, then left down the passageway to the exit.

Wind ran after them, and had lined up the perfect shot on the back of Loki's head when a hand pushed his arm down. Klaus, his time-weathered face filled with anger and rage, his dark eyes glittering with evil intent, snarled in the boy's face. "Do you want to destroy all the Professor has worked for? You fool! You almost killed her!"

Wind sneered at the scorn, but banished the glow of power from around himself with a wave of his hand. "So be it. But you can be the one to explain to the old man why she escaped through our main entrance when she was within my sights." Turning on a heel, he disappeared back into the dark subterranean lair that he called home.

* * *

><p>On the surface, Loki was taking her first look at the moon in just over a week, eyes bright but soul tired, smile strong but body weak. Bowing her head to hide her tears, she wiped furiously at her eyes before turning to Will. "Thank you."<p>

The brunette was surprised. "For what? We'd never have left you there, not ever!" She smiled again, a quaint, innocent smile.

"And that is what I thank you for." The smile faltered, and Loki staggered a little, a hand to her head. Will darted forwards, a frown on his face and confused concern in his eyes.

"Loki? Are you alright? Loki?"

She waved him away. "I'm fine...Just tired," Hesitating for a moment, she sighed and rolled up her sleeve. "And I'm guessing this has something to do with it."

Will traced the needle marks with loathing and disgust, before slinging the arm around his shoulders and supporting the blonde on his side. He swore, once and quietly, but Loki still laughed.

"I'll be fine in a few days, Will, its nothing to taint your perfect tongue for." Will only just stopped a smile from quirking onto his lips.

"Drugs are nothing to laugh about. Do you even know what they used? You're shaking already!" The blue-eyed teen shook her head.

"Its just temporary withdrawal. It happens in hospitals as well. Its nothing unusual, or bad. It means its getting outta my system, and good riddance to it!" The Casterwill grinned, to see some of her fire returning, before hefting more of Loki's weight onto him, and setting of down the street with her limping at his side, their laughter, hoarse and weary, giving some warmth to the cold, unforgiving night.

* * *

><p>The first rays of golden, blessed sunlight were crawling over the horizon's rim when Loki and Will reached Dante's canal-side home, and the pair were relieved beyond measure, both for the safety it provided from the Organization and the Blood Spiral, and for the privacy it gave from the watchful, curious eyes of passersby and night wanderers who saw nothing more than a couple of junkies or drunkards stumbling home after a night out, and scoffed at them for their foolishness. It hurt Will's pride and honor, and belittled all they had been through, to endure their shaming stares and judgmental looks.<p>

As they staggered into the courtyard that entered onto Dante's house, a flash of auburn caught their eyes at a window, and they smiled at each other. Dante had obviously kept watch out for them all night. Noticing a scuff mark or two around the bottom of his stairs, Loki felt her heart warm with love- from the looks of it, Dante had prepared to wait _outside _for them all night, till someone, probably Zhalia, forced him inside.

They hadn't crossed more than a quarter of the yard before his door was flung open, and the golden-eyed man appeared in the doorway, eyes lit up and a smile that near split his face in two, Cherit the same on his shoulder. Dashing across to the pair, he caught them both up in a joyous bear-hug, spinning Loki around in a circle before setting her down again, and checking her for injuries. Their laughter rose in the early morning air to warm the sky and their hearts, and dawn came, healing all that which had been broken that cold morn in Ireland, beneath the ground in the tombs of long forgotten men. Zhalia hovered at the door, brown eyes hiding guilt and pain- though she had had no part in the rescue, there was only one person Klaus would blame for this. Pushing the thought aside, she approached the group at her usual swagger, and was greeted with a smile from all, including Will.

Slowly, and with many grins, hugs and reassurances of Loki's presence, the team made their way inside, complete again at last. It was only Zhalia who, in her apprehension for what was to come, noticed the markings around Loki's neck, now dull and seemingly lifeless, that still occasionally moved and changed. Whatever had begun, was far from over.

* * *

><p>"Its good to be home." Loki looked around the room- <em>her <em>room- from the bed, curling up into a ball beneath the covers. Dante looked down at her from his seat at her feet, and smiled a slow, father's smile.

"You consider this your home?" His reply was a shy nod, and an even shyer smile.

"Apart from my house with my dad, but I don't own that anymore. This is my home, and my family." Dante beamed.

"You know," He said after a while, looking away. "I think of you as a daughter more than anything. My family." A small, pleased smile spread across both their faces, and Dante stood, leaning over to kiss the top of the blonde's head. "Not that I would ever want to replace Eathon."

The azure-eyed girl shook her head with a rueful grin. "I know that... But, you're like him, in so many ways. You're both like fathers to me." They shared a look, and the russet-haired man understood that whilst Eathon would always be her father, Dante would be someone just as close to her. There just wasn't a word.

He ruffled her hair with a smirk, then turned and left her to much needed and much deserved sleep.

But as he padded downstairs, Dante stopped and looked back at the room he had just left. Though Loki tried to hide it, he could tell that she was far from fine. Her cursing and the events that had followed had left their harrowing mark on her mind- while her injuries may heal, he worried if her spirit would too.

* * *

><p>AN: Again, SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! If you forgive me, REVIEW!<p> 


	48. Chapter 47 All Work and No Pay

AN: Okay, back with the series plot! ^_^

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 47- All Work and No Pay Part 1

_Valley of the Kings, Egypt_

Blistering sand, harsh winds. The desert howled and shrieked and moaned, as if cursing the group that had entered its wild domain. Heads down, eyes narrowed against the swirling sand, the Huntik team, dressed in headscarves that valiantly, but in vain, tried to protect their faces from the sand, trekked on over sand dunes and across the barren land, searching for their goal. Pausing in the mouth of a gorge, whose sides reached like grasping fingers to the sky, Loki turned to her companions, Cherit balanced patiently on her shoulder, his yellow eyes protected by a pair of goggles that Will had kindly given, indicating they should rest there. The wind dropped as they entered, the sand settling at their feet, and for the first time since they reached the land of the Nile, the team smiled.

Pulling down the strip of cloth that covered her mouth, and reaching into the deep pockets of her robe, Loki passed Will a scrap of worn paper, covered with lines and names, a map of the most ancient kind. "We're in the Valley of the Kings now." She murmured, looking around with wide, fascinated eyes. Coming back to her friends, she tilted her head to the Casterwill beside her. "Can you check the map?"

The brunette nodded, waving his hands briefly, making the air shimmer and dance before the rugged, familiar, blue box appeared. "Cipherdex, scan this map, and tell us the quickest route to the lost tomb of Nerfertiti." The lid opened smoothly, its age not showing at all, and the machine glowed like molten gold.

The polite, British voice rang out in the silence of the windless space. "Yes milord." A hologram, showing that which the map had written on paper, hovered above the Cipherdex. "The nearest entrance to Nefertiti's tomb is on display now."

Sharp, cyan eyes scanning the image, the blonde motioned for the machine to zoom in on a small opening between a line of statues. It glowed red as she touched it. "It's just down here!" The two youngest Seekers shared a grin, before turning to Zhalia. "Come on, let's go!" Ever impatient, ever hyper, Loki bounced with energy, a stray curl of golden hair peeking out from under her headscarf.

Will rolled his emerald eyes as she bounded ahead, smiling wryly. "We made it!" He muttered with some small wonder. "After all that's happened in the last few weeks, it seems like a miracle."

Loki paused, smirking, head tilted to one side, considering. "Yup!" She chirped, finally. "It pretty much was!"

* * *

><p><em>Three weeks earlier, Dante's house, Venice<em>

The weeks that followed the rescue were hard on all the team, especially Loki. She refused point blank to talk about why she had left, or what had happened after, save for the fact that it had been necessary at the time. Will, while dedicated to her recovery, took this badly- after all they had been through together, it hurt that the blonde would keep something from the group, and him in particular.

Since her disappearance, something had changed between them all. Dante had a better reign on his temper, and was more forgiving of his own mistakes, since Loki had given him a right and proper telling off whenever he tried to blame himself for what had happened. Whenever the subject unwillingly came up, the only one she blamed for the whole sorry mess was Aiden, and not one member in the team could fault her for saying so.

Zhalia was quieter and more withdrawn than ever, her grandfather forever plaguing her mind. Scared by what she might have done, what she might have caused, she fought with herself about the outcome. Part of her insisted she would have done as she was ordered, but a small, yet loud, voice at the back of her mind whispering that she would have hesitated, disobeyed, this was _her _team, _her friends_ and she would never betray them. The blue-haired woman wasn't sure if she was happy or sad at this, and was torn, as ever, between two sides.

Will grew to be more humble, less arrogant in his heritage and powers, more willing to listen to the council of others. He was, of course, devoted to Loki, but now she was at his side again he hid it better, as boys are known to do. After all, if you told a girl you liked her, it made you look like an idiot, didn't it?

The greatest change was in Loki herself. While still bubbly, warm and all that was friendly, her smile was never quite as big, her eyes never quite as bright. She could be found, more often then not, curled up on a couch in Dante's living room, a book unopened on her lap, her eyes distant and lost, one hand on the pale blue, moving designs that ringed her throat, the other fiddling with a bracelet, a delicate chain interspaced with blue stones, an extremely late birthday present from Will. He'd kept it in his pocket since the day she'd been cursed, and gave it to her the day after she'd been rescued.

Loki, delighted with the gift, and the others that Dante, Cherit, and even Zhalia, had given, wore it everyday. Will, Cherit and Dante had been rewarded with a kiss to their cheek, and Zhalia with a very excited hug, before Loki disappeared into her book, courtesy of Cherit with a little help from Dante (ah, the wonders of internet shopping), her new coat from her amber-orbed mentor draped around her shoulders, her mind already pondering over the book of puzzles that Zhalia had bought. The much overdue celebrations did much to heal the gap between them.

And so week passed, hesitant and sometimes awkward, and the team managed to find themselves again in the calm after the storm, picking up the pieces and moving onwards again, fixing themselves as they went. Time was the greatest healer for them all, and on the dawn of the next week, it was almost as if it had never happened. Almost.

The group, lounging around the living room, each absorbed in their own little thing, spent the morning lazily and without hurry or worry. While each seemed at ease and relaxed, the itch of adventure niggled at the backs of their minds. The flap of the letterbox startled them out of their calm and quiet, the thump of a parcel bringing a hint of promise to the day. It was Loki who roused herself first, darting out of the room in a flurry of soft footsteps.

Now interested, the group murmured amongst themselves whilst they waited for the blonde's return. Zhalia sighed, resting her head back against the back of the sofa. "I'm going out my mind with boredom, we all are. Any standing missions from Guggenheim?" Dante shook his head with a rueful smile.

"Not any more. With a team as good as us, we've burned through them pretty quickly." Will and Zhalia sighed in unison, glanced at each other in annoyance, then frowned and folded their arms.

A soft voice behind them startled them all again, and they turned to see Loki stood in the doorway, a small, bemused smile on her face, eyes lit up brighter than they had in days with that old, puzzle-solving glint. "Something tells me we won't be bored for long."

Padding into the room, she sat cross-legged on the floor beside the coffee table, placing the package carefully on the table. Leaning in carefully, the team looked with puzzled amazement at the perfectly normal, brown-paper-wrapped, string-tied parcel, before their eyes slid to the addressee.

_Ms Loki Lambert_

_c/o Mr. Dante Vale_

_Fondamenta della Teta, 333_

_C.A.P 30100 Venezia- Italy_

The blonde smiled, whispering in an awe-filled tone. "Jodis Lore's notes, from Prague. I'd almost forgotten these!"

Dante smiled, leaning back in his seat again, golden eyes curious behind a strand of auburn hair. "The Huntik Foundation finally finished the translation." He said, as a way of clearing the matter, whilst Loki eagerly tore open the package, gently taking out the pile of papers within.

"Finally, after all this time..." Her voice trailed off as she read the first few lines, her eyes lighting up in understanding. Will smiled. It was obvious that the puzzle-maniac, now seeing the meaning, could solve the original code that had so annoyed her before.

Dante nodded as the team gathered around the sapphire-orbed girl's armchair, peering over the back to read the long awaited answers to their questions. "According to clues in the journal, your father also read these notes." Blue and amber eyes met momentarily in a inner smile, before the gold-haired teen turned her attention back to the pages.

Will beamed, head tilted to the side to see over his friend's shoulder. "And they lead him to the greatest Seeker treasure, the Ancient Amulet of Will!"

Loki returned his smile tenfold, before laying the pages reverently on the table. One part that had stuck in her mind came back to her, some part of it bothering her. "My travels have brought me presently to the land of Egypt." She recited, her memory faultless. "I have found secrets hidden in the great tombs, and the ancient powers of the titans." That part was simple, and not unusual. Seekers thrived on secrets, it was their daily bread and butter, and it was the same for the titans. It was just a normal part of their life.

Will interrupted, impatient as always. "Is there anything about the Amulet of Will?" He demanded, foot tapping an anxious rhythm against the floor. Loki gave him a mocking smile.

"Hold on! I'm getting to it." Casting her mind back to the notes, she flicked through them mentally, searching for that one phrase. "Wait! There was!" She grinned at her friends excitedly before repeated the words of the long dead Wise Man of Prague. "I'm convinced that what they call the Amulet of Will was used than none other than the first Seeker, Casterwill during the Great War." The blonde laughed. "Well, that's of no use. Its a simple leap of the mind, from Will to Casterwill." She mulled over the pages for a moment, then turned to the brunette now sat on the floor by her feet. "Will, what do you know of this?"

"Only a little." He admitted, emerald eyes distant as he looked through his memory. "Casterwill was the one responsible for bringing titans to the Earth in the first place, to defend against an otherworldly threat." He shrugged.

Zhalia smirked, shaking her head, midnight locks falling into her chocolate eyes. "The story of Casterwill is just that, a _story._" She scoffed. "No one really knows how the titans appeared."

All eyes turned to Cherit, and the little creature blushed, grinning sheepishly. "If I recalled, you'd be the first to know." He assured them, frowning a little at his own blank mind. Zhalia just raised an eyebrow, still a little wary of the titan's supposed amnesia.

Will spoke quietly into the silence that followed, knees tucked under his chin, head bowed. "My family was named after Casterwill, but I'm not sure why. I guess it was something I would have been told when I'd been initiated as a noble. As far as I know, all our earliest histories have been lost."

A sad cloud gathered around the group, the team knowing how much his family meant to Will. Dante lifted his head after a long moment, eyes filled with curiosity. "There looks like there's a map there." He murmured, a slow, reckless smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Loki nodded, then sighed. They'd reached the part of Jodis Lore's notes that troubled, and confused her. "It says that Lore explored the tomb of the queen Nefertiti." William's head shot up, his eyes filled with the same confusion that filled Loki's mind.

"But as far as the world knows, Nefertiti's tomb has never been found!" He cried, incredulous. Though many had tried to find the ancient queen, none had succceeded. Her death lay in the shrouds of mystery, until now, it seemed.

"Sounds like the best lead we've gotten in a while." Dante said at last, breaking the stunned silence.

Loki grinned at him, and the light and energy that she'd been missing flooded back, her hyperness increasing by the second. "You bet!" She beamed. "I know my dad followed these clues to Egypt, and I'm not gonna miss a step!" Her eyes glinted with steely determination, and the team smiled at each other. It seemed the old Loki, mischievous and sly, was back.

Dante's smile disappeared, and he shrugged as if not really bothered by the prospect of finding a tomb thought lost to the world. "Obviously, you and Will should leave as soon as possible."

Loki's face fell, her blue eyes filled with hurt and confusion. "You're not coming with us?" It seemed unthinkable that Dante would miss a moment of this, and even more so to go without him. He smiled to reassure her, amber eyes filled with laughter at her crestfallen expression.

"Not just yet." The team relaxed, and the russet-haired man continued in a quieter voice. "I first have to report to the Huntik Council on our little adventure last week." They all winced, flinching away from the memories of those dark days.

* * *

><p><em>Organization Central, Prague, Czech Republic<em>

Far away, across the ocean and many miles, another group was thinking back to the day when Loki had almost been handed over to the Organization, although their viewpoint and opinion were somewhat different to the Huntik team's.

In the self-same room where he had ordered her capture, circular and filled with the treasure of a thousand ancient civillizations, the Professor was now pondering her escape. A tense silence filled the empty space between him, and his minions. Although the two suits by the door were trembling with fear, the white-faced, black-haired, black-hearted man before him was lounging in his chair across from the Organization leader as if he had not a care in the world.

"I am not pleased, Rassimov." The Professor growled, his sightless eyes shining silver in the lamplight.

Rassimov merely smiled, hidden as it was beneath his mustache. "No, sir. That is more than apparent. If I may explain, sir-"

The Professor cut off his honey-coated whisperings with a snarl. "Explain what, Rassimov?" The suits jumped as if shot at the anger in his voice, then resumed their positions at the door, quivering. "Why the Huntik Foundation is still a thorn in my side? Why Dante Vale defeats my operatives at every turn? Why your son failed me? Why the Lambert girl _escaped_?"

Rassimov didn't move, his black, dead eyes watching his master like a snake, not shaken by the fat man's ranting. "I understand your frustration, sir." Again, the honorable name was nothing more than an insult, a reminder that this man had called many thousands of men '_sir_', and had betrayed every last one of them. "If you would allow me to bring this to your attention." It was not a request, instead an order, obeyed with a click of his fingers. A suit brought forward the offending article, its very presence bringing a feral sneer to the coal-eyed man's face. He placed the unassuming, brown wallet on the table between he and the Professor, before flicking it open with one disgusted finger.

It was a passport, and the name and picture inside...

"William Casterwill." Rassimov spat. "He's participated in a number of Huntik Foundation missions."

The Professor narrowed his eyes at the picture of the brunette. "Casterwill? I thought that clan of backwards fools was all but extinct."

Rassimov nodded, his voice a poisonous, deadly whisper, filled with murderous longing. "If only.." He shook himself, and drew his mind away from his blood-filled fantasies. "Sir, Dante Vale himself is on this Casterwill boy's payroll-"

The Professor shook his head, tired of Rassimov's hatred for the family. "Enough of his Casterwill nonsense." He ordered, eyes filled with fiery anger. "I'm warning you, Rassimov. I want Dante Vale _neutralized_ immediately!"

The man opposite him let a slow, vicious smile turn the corners of his lips. "Sir...as you wish, sir. I'll...take care of it." He stood, and cross the room to the vault-like door, plans and schemes already forming in this dark mind. The Professor made a pleased noise, then paused.

"Rassimov..." The operative stopped, looking back over his shoulder, waiting. The voice behind him became an almost inhuman snarl. "See that you do."

* * *

><p><em>Marco Polo Airport, Venice, Italy<em>

The team spent a few moments packing, each not needing much time. With their constant missions and traveling, they almost always had a bag pre-packed in case of emergencies. It only took them an hour to get their things and get to the airport. Loki couldn't help but smile. It was good to be on the road again. It took her mind off...other things.

The trio headed straight to the ticket desk, Will confidently leading the way. A moment later, that confidence was gone.

"Urm, I'm very sorry, sir." The attendant behind the desk looked up, an apologetic smile on her face. "But your bank card's been declined."

Will froze, confused and a little worried, but quickly shrugged it off, rummaging around in his bag. "That's odd..." He muttered to himself. "Nevermind, here's try this one." He offered the lady a different card- one of many, Loki suspected- before settling back to wait. He didn't have to wait long for a very negative '_beep_' to sound from the machine.

The attendant's smile vanished, and her eyes turned hard- it was obvious she thought they were trying to getting a ticket without paying. "I'm afraid," She said politely, though it was clear she was anything but. "That this one's been declined as well."

Will took his card back with a look of bewilderment on his face, staring down at it in astonishment as the group moved away to the side of the airport. "But...that doesn't make any sense!" The team shared a confused look before deciding to return to Dante's. Just as they were leaving the airport, the Casterwill's phone rang, and he pulled it quickly out of his pocket, frowning. "LeBlanche? But why would he phone me now?" He answered, his confused look slowly changing into one of panic and a little fear. A moment passed before he said his farewells to the faithful butler, and hung up.

"Change of plans- let's head to my place. It seems there's been a bit of a problem..."

* * *

><p>AN: Next time, see the pretty rich boy learn to work! Hahahahaah gonna enjoy that!<p>

Also, to my deviant art followers! Huzzah- my dearest sister Key-hands has agreed to produce...

THE SEEKER WITHIN GRAPHIC NOVEL/MANGA!

Its gonna be so awesome, and I'm real excited. It will be on her deviant art account, username Idgey, as soon as it is done.

Till next time, folks!


	49. Chapter 48 All Work and No Pay Part 2

AN: One of my favourite parts of the entire series- the rat-dog emerges!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 48- All Work and No Pay Part 2

The team hurried through the streets to the Casterwill's canal-side mansion, Cherit hidden safely in Loki's bag. Emerald eyes filled with doubts and confusion, Will lead the way in complete silence, lost in his turmoil, though the blonde at his side tried again and again to reassure him. The group arrived at the boy's home with a sullen cloud over their heads, and entered anxiously.

All of them were surprised to find a very shaken LeBlanche awaiting them, his usual calm demeanor vanished. Loki, looking around and knowing that the rest of the team didn't know what to do, quickly took action, settling the older man in a chair in the library before disappearing. Shell-shocked by the change in his guardian, and unnerved by what he suspected to have caused it, Will stayed where he was, eyes fixed on the floor, but unseeing.

The blonde returned a few moments later with a tray holding four cups of tea. Placing it gently on the table, she deliberately passed two of them to Will and his butler, before taking one for herself and nudging the other towards Zhalia. "Extra sugar." She murmured, in way of answering the unspoken question in her friend's mocha orbs. "For the shock...Though what their shocked about..." She trailed off before shrugging.

Holding the tea in trembling hands, LeBlanche finally spoke. "I-it's terrible, Master William." His voice was barely a whisper. "Whatever shall we do?"

William, at the sound of his attendant's voice, roused himself from his mental wonderings. "Everything will be alright, LeBlanche." He reassured his old friend, though he himself was less than fine. "Just calm down, and tell me what happened." He paused, then added quietly. "Whenever you're ready."

The grey-haired gentleman nodded slowly, his lips a thin, white line beneath his mustache. "Y-yes, milord..." He hesitated, steeling himself, then sat up straighter. "I was so embarrassed. So terribly embarrassed, milord." Loki pursed her lips, worried. She knew to a family of such high standing, embarrassment was a serious problem- with their family all but vanished, the Casterwill's image was one of the most valuable things Will had. LeBlanche shuddered, then began again. "Yesterday, I learned the cheque for the groceries had..." He stopped, shaking, unable to go any further.

"...Bounced." Will sighed, placing his now empty cup back down on the table before leaning his chin on his steepled hands, obviously expecting LeBlanche's news to be of this sort.

The butler nodded, clutching his cup as if it were an anchor in a churning sea. "Well, you can imagine..." He bit his lip. "So, I called the bank immediately, and they informed me that your accounts did not exist." The team froze, stunned, as the steel-eyed man continued. "Never existed, in fact! But how can that be?"

Loki held her head in her hands, slumped, hair tumbling down her shoulders like a golden waterfall to curtain her face. "The Organization. Who else has the power to do that? But, why?" Silence fell for a moment, before Zhalia muttered something under her breath, that the flaxen-haired teen beside her stilled at.

"To cut off our funding for missions."

Will nodded. "They must have found out about my involvement with the Foundation after...last week."

The butler looked to his master for guidance. "What are we ever to do, Master Will?"

The brunette sat up, a look of fire in his eyes. The vast fortune of the Casterwills was one of the last links he had, however cold it was, to his family. And now, the Organization had taken it away from him. "Let's not panic. Something can be done, I'm sure." He sighed. "The only question is, what?"

Loki, as a novice to the world of business, had no ideas as to how to solve this riddle. "All I know," She admitted. "This that my father is still missing, and Jodis Lore's notes are the best lead we've had since I started this whole Foundation business! We can't let this stop us!"

Cherit flew from his perch on the sofa arm to rest on her shoulder. "Don't be glum, Loki! We'll get there, never you worry!"

A voice from the shadows startled them all. "The little titan is right, Master William." Santiago, ever mysterious, appeared from the darkness and padded gracefully to his master, kneeling at his feet. "As your loyal bodyguard, I'll do anything I can to help." The green-eyed boy thanked him gently, knowing that he meant every word.

Zhalia scoffed, leaning back against the couch, her eye glinting dangerously. "Got any bright ideas?"

Loki beamed, sitting forwards, azure eyes lit up with an idea. "Don't worry! Dante can help us!"

Will stood, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Loki. Dante's a professional above all else, and I can't pay him!"

Zhalia nodded, for once agreeing. "You got that right, kid. You can count Dante out for this mission."

Loki stood, glaring at the both of them furiously. "I don't believe that, or the two of you! Dante's our friend! He wouldn't abandon us." She made to storm away, but Will caught her hand.

"Loki!" He pleaded, and she turned back to him, fury in her cyan orbs. She stopped on seeing the look in her friend's eyes, finally understanding that this was more than not being able to pay Dante, this was a matter of honor, of his family's nobility- to accept charity would be a weakness, however close he and the giver were.

Smiling wryly, she relaxed. "Spare me a noble's pride." The girl muttered, and the Casterwill let her go, knowing she wouldn't tell. Loki moved away to perch on the edge of a seat, brow furrowed in concentration. "There must be something we can do..."

Silence reigned for a moment, as each team member tried to come up with a plan. Loki broke the silence first, a joyful cry on her lips as she found a solution. "We can get part-time jobs!"

Zhalia was quick to object, disgust clear in her voice. "Urgh, Loki, you have got to be kidding."

Will glared at the blue-haired woman, emerald eyes narrowed. "Its not exactly glamorous, but if we can't get to Egypt, we'll lose our chance at the Amulet of Will."

The pair looked at Zhalia expectantly as LeBlanche began to clear away the tea, Santiago moving to stand behind Loki's chair. He knew, after seeing his master slowly collapse during her disappearance, that protecting the Lambert was an important part of protecting William- and seeing as his master was pacing the floor at the moment, it was a better option to stand behind the blonde.

Zhalia stood, shaking her head, disappointing one teen and living up to the expectations of the other. "Sorry kids. You're on your own."

Will snorted, hate filling his eyes as he looked down his nose at her. "You would just leave, wouldn't you?"

She snarled at him in reply. "Listen, I'm here because Dante wanted me to come. Trip's off, Dante's out." Turning away, she glanced over her shoulder. "Why waste my time?"

Will smiled smugly at her, kind of glad to have her out of his hair. "Fine. Leave. No one's stopping you." Loki opened her mouth to protest, but fell silent, watching carefully. It didn't seem like Will and Zhalia would be able to work peacefully together without Dante's calming presence. The blue-haired woman shot a final glare at the Casterwill before marching out, the slamming of the front door soon echoing through the house.

Loki smiled into the dark quite that followed. "Hey, cheer up! Tomorrow, we have a mission to pound the pavement! Compared to fighting the Organization, this'll be a breeze!"

* * *

><p>And far away, in a dark, secret place filled with nightmares and horrors, a time-weathered old man picked up the phone, and agreed to bring about the downfall of the Huntik team.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Later that week, Venice, Italy<em>

Loki, with her charm and smiles, quickly found the team jobs at a famous hotel in Venice, with good wages to boot. Settling down at her position behind the desk, the blonde shot the others a smile.

"Well, guys, here we are!"

Will, now a bell boy and not very happy about it, merely shrugged. "Not too shabby, hey, LeBlanche."

The elder gentleman nodded, looking down at his new, grey uniform, the same as Will was wearing- Loki, thankfully, had escaped the uniform, and was instead wearing a smart dress suit. "I suppose not, milord. The uniforms are nothing if not striking."

The sudden ringing of a bell shocked them all into action, a nod from Will sending LeBlanche to open the door, as he was assigned to do, the boy on his heels, ready to pick up the guest's bags.

Opening the door with a bow, the grey-haired man greeted the newcomer with his usual decorum. "M'lady." The woman, fashionably dressed and in her elder years, a rat-like dog under on arm, brightened visibly at his medieval chivalry, then strode to the desk as Will disappeared behind her to gather her things.

Taking a deep breath, Loki put on her best smile as the rather frightening woman walked towards her, the dog yapping away as she murmured to it in French. "Good afternoon, madame. What an adorable little dog." She smiled at the animal, then turned her gaze upwards to its owner. "How may I help you?"

The guest immediately took offense. "What?!" She cried, outraged. "Do you not realise who I am? I am Miss Alissia Clairmont! I'm here _every year!_"

Loki jumped, startled, before smiling again and bending her head to the computer before her. "Pardon me, madame, I'm new here." She searched the name quickly, looking through the database provided. "Of course, Alissia Clairmont." Glad something was going right, she looked at the available rooms, trying to remember which was the most extravagant, as this lady obviously expected. "Will the west penthouse do?"

Unfortunately, Loki had got it wrong again. "West? _West?_ I _always _have the east penthouse." Her voice lowered dangerously, and the dog growled. "There must be some mistake."

The blonde quickly turned back to the computer, eyes wide and heart in mouth. Boy, had she been wrong when she said this would be easy! What a prima dona! "I'll see what I can do, madame." As she typed away, Alissia Clairmont bent to the floor, realising the rat-dog with a gentle warning not to piddle. The mutt immediately went to Will, who was staggering under the sheer weight of baggage Miss Clairmont has decided to bring.

As the dog danced around his ankles, William realised he wouldn't get any peace until he paid some attention to it, and bent down to pet it. Instead, he was bitten. Holding back a yelp, he shook his hand furiously, trying to dull the pain. With a nervous laugh, he looked over to the two pairs of eyes, one indignant, one worried, glancing over from the desk. "Energetic little fella, isn't he?"

Loki sighed, before turning back to the computer, but Miss Clairmont wasn't satisfied. "You obviously don't like dogs." She smirked. "He can _sense _it." Behind the desk, the blonde couldn't help but agree- Will was so..._cat-like, _it seemed impossible that a dog would like him. The brunette lad hurried away towards the elevator as the mongrel moved on to assault LeBlanche, who growled back at it, causing it to attack his trouser leg with its needle-like teeth.

Hearing commotion behind him as the butler asked for the woman to control her animal, and was instead met with encouragement for the dog, Will deemed it safe to use Farslip to press the button, his hands being too full to reach.

Behind him, he winced as he heard LeBlanche cry out.

The dog had bitten him.

Loki bit her lip, looking over at her older friend. "LeBlanche, _please_!" She warned, knowing how temperamental the dog's owner was. Grey eyes immediately turned to her, a little angry and showing more than his ankle was hurt.

"Pardon me, m'lady!" He called across to her, shaking his leg to remove the pest. "That beast just wounded me!"

Loki winced, wishing he had lowered his voice, as Miss Clairmont took immediate offense.

"How dare you suggest such a thing?!" Pulling her handbag from her shoulder, she swung it around in a deadly, but fashionable, arch, catching LeBlanche square in the face, and doing the same for Will as he went to help. Sensing things getting far out of hand, Loki came out from behind the desk, hands out in a gesture of peace, eyes pleading.

"Please, madame-" She was cut off with a furious cry.

"Don't you touch me! Keep your distance!" She went to strike Will again, but a bolt of blue-grey steel shot past her, severing the strings to her bag.

"Shadowpoint!" The shrunken bounced off the chandelier, and landed neatly in a bin. In stunned silence, Miss Alissia Clairmont turned to face the dark, angry man with a long braid, his janitor's hat casting shadows over his burning eyes. For a moment, both she and her dog were still and quiet.

The silence was broken by the _'ding'_ of the lift as it arrived, and by a small child who, peeking around a column, has seen the whole thing. "Wow! Ninja janitors!"

Two sets of eyes narrowed at each other, neither willing to back down, and as Santiago, trained bodyguard, faced off against Miss Alissia Clairmont, fashionista, Will and Loki hid behind the desks.

Needless to say, they were all fired.

* * *

><p><em>Even later that week, Venice, Italy<em>

After hiding their faces for a day, the team were back out on the streets, this time just Will and Loki, as Santiago and LeBlanche recovered from their wounds from both of the dogs they had encountered at the hotel. Searching for jobs became a chore, as lots of businesses had heard about their mishap at their last job, and didn't want them around. A tiny, chic coffee-shop by one of the canals seemed to hold better promise, and the teens quickly applied.

Getting to grips with all the complicated machines used to make the coffees, and all the different brands, was a little daunting, but within the hour, both of them felt they might do better at this job.

Passing a cup to a man sat at the counter, Loki smiled before turning back to the orders list, only to be stopped by a whining Italian voice. "I'd ordered double cappuccino, very hot!" The blonde winced, wondering whether she'd mixed up orders, before the man continued. "This is barely warm!" Sighing with relief, Loki took the cup back.

"Oops! Sorry!" She grinned sheepishly, but the man was not to be deterred.

"When I ask for _hot_, I don't want _tepid_, or _barmy_, or _toasty_, I want it _HOT!_" He snarled. "What kind of dim-wit are you?" Loki raised an eyebrow, turning away.

"It was a simple mistake!" Sharing a mischievous grin with Cherit, who was hidden under the counter putting cream in the buns, she passed the cup to Will before going back to the other orders.

The boy smiled, hiding behind the bar before whispering to the little titan: "Hot it is! Boltflare!" The cup lit up with the power's golden glow, and steam quickly rose from the bubbling surface. He gave the cup back to his blue-eyed friend, who eyed it for a moment before smiling.

She handed it back to the customer with her apologies, then stepped back to watch. As the man cried out in agony from the burning, molten coffee, she and Will smiled wit resignation of another lost job, before removing their hats and walking away.

* * *

><p>"It's hopeless!" Will cried, as they searched the streets early the next morning. "We must have the worst luck in all of Venice! First that stuck-up woman and her mutt, then that fussy jerk!" He sighed with frustration, kicking a pebble on the path. "We're running out of time!"<p>

Loki nodded, eyes dim with disappointment. "We need another job, and fast! But who else is gonna take us after this week?" She sighed, missing Cherit's enthusiasm and optimism- the little titan had stayed at home. She and Will had realised that small businesses were their only option now, and it would be too risky to bring him along.

A quiet laugh behind them startled the teens, and they spun round to find themselves face to face with a tall, slim man with long, mousy brown hair tied up in a ponytail, his hazel eyes gentle behind round spectacles. He was in his early twenties at most, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, a half-apron tied around his waist. He was leaning against the door to a coffee shop, wiping his long, artist's hands on a towel. "You must be the disaster duo!" He called to them, smiling in a way that wasn't mocking, that invited them to laugh with him.

It wasn't until Will hissed that Loki felt her guard go up.

If you darkened the hair with grease, and hid the eyes behind golden lenses, this man was an almost exactly copy of their first enemy- _Defoe_.

The man's eyes widened with surprise at the hate in Will's eyes, and he tucked the towel into his apron before holding his hands up in apology. "It was just a joke! Most shops have heard about you two!" He smiled again, a little nervously this time, and Loki couldn't help but be confused. If this man wasn't Defoe, who was he?

She elbowed Will, gave him a Look, then smiled at the stranger and wandered a moment's hesitation, the Casterwill followed her. The blonde grinned at the tall stranger. "I'm not surprised after the week we've had! I don't think we'll find another job in Venice if we tried for months!" She stuck her hand out with unfailing British manners. "I'm Loki Lambert, and this is my friend Will Casterwill." The man took her hand in a firm, yet gentle shake.

"Liam Adese, at your service. I might just be able to help you two out." Liam grinned mischievously. "See, I own this shop," He stuck a thumb over his shoulder to the cafe behind him. "And its getting a bit much working it on my own."

Loki bit her lip, blushing. "Ah, me and coffee machines don't go so well." She and Will glanced at each other, laughing. The hazel-eyed man nodded.

"Yeah, I heard about that too." He turned away, opening the door, and turning the sign within from 'closed' to 'open'. "But a solution comes to mind." Liam picked up a pad of paper and a pencil from the counter. "Fancy being my waiters? I'll pay you wages, and you can keep whatever tips you earn. I usually eat my lunch hour in here, so you're welcome to join me."

Loki grinned, not believing their luck. "We'd be delighted!" She caught the aprons he threw at her with ease, tying one quickly around her waist before handing the other to Will.

He rolled his eyes at her eagerness before doing the same, both of them allowing a spark of hope. This man, Liam, whoever he may resemble, seemed nothing like the man that had once hounded them across the world. If something, god forbid, did happen, he seemed like the kind of man that wouldn't blame them for it. This might be their chance- Egypt was within their grasp!

* * *

><p>The day passed well, Loki and Will adjusting quickly, learning which customers would tip for a smile, and which would require a little more work. Liam was a gentle teacher, whispering hints and suggestions, telling them about the regulars, and warning them against those that were particularly tight-fisted. Even after their earlier misgivings, the teens found themselves warming to the older brunette. The trio spent the lunch break at Liam's flat, above the shop. It was small, but not cramped, homely and cozy. Liam's cooking wasn't bad either.<p>

The afternoon rush soon flooded the cafe, keeping all three busy, their attention spread thin, with Liam sometimes having to come out from behind the bar to help. Just as it was dying down again, a large group blocked out the door, casting darkness and shadows into the cafe. Loki gasped, turning away.

_Suits._

She and Will quickly busied themselves at the other end of the shop, but the blonde's golden hair caught the light easily, and they both soon felt eyes on their backs. Sharing a look with her friend, Loki went to the bar to get a fresh pad. Liam came over as she neared. "Be careful with them." He whispered, hazel eyes wide and filled with fear. "Those lot have been coming here for a week or two, and they're _dangerous_. Get in, get the order, run away." She nodded, worried that even a normal human like Liam could understand the primal danger of the Organization, and turned to the group.

"May I take your order?"

"Well, well, look who it is." Loki held her back straight as the other suits laughed. "Waiting tables? Is this some kind of special Huntik mission?" She heard Liam still behind her, and edge towards the end of the bar.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The blonde said adamantly, determined not to involve her new employer her Seeker vendettas.

The suits sneered, the dark haired one closest to her smiling wickedly. "Sure you don't, girly."

Loki shifted uncomfortably under their stares, tapping the pad in her hands with her pencil. "Now, would you like to order something?" The suit shot out a hand, grabbing her wrist with a cat-like smile.

"What would you recommend?"

Suddenly, Liam was by her side, hazel eyes missing their usual warmth, angry and cold. "I'd recommend you take your hands off my staff. If this harassment continues, I shall be forced to remove you from the premises." His eyes narrowed, and his hands clenched into fists. "Do I make myself clear?"

The suit sat there for a moment, stunned that the usually timid barkeep would turn hardcore, and Loki took that moment to pull her arm away. Blinking, the suit smiled his creepy smile again. "Ooh, feisty."

Loki glared at him, her eyes like shards of ice. "Now, what do you want?"

The suit narrowed his eyes in return. "We want to give your friend Dante a little message. He around?" Liam looked between the blonde and the suits for a moment, confusion in his eyes, before they turned steely once more.

"That's it." His voice was quiet, but deadly. "Out. All of you."

The suits stood, but the cat-like one remained as the others spread out. "Not after we get what we came for." He sprang forwards, grabbing Loki's arm, but she turned and used his momentum against him, and he went sprawling on the floor. Will looked over at the sounds of the fight, and immediately ran to the fire alarm.

"Everyone out!"

He pulled it, setting off the screeching alarms, sending most of the customers fleeing in terror. One paused at the door, looking back in confusion. "I don't see a fire..."

The suits called Boltflares and Raypulses to their hands, aiming at the terrified Liam, who refused to leave his store, and the steel-eyed Loki. "We've got your fire right here!"

They cast the spells, expecting a quick end to their fight, but the blonde quickly covered them, shouting: "Honourguard!" The pink-gold shield protected them as Loki turned to the mousy-brunette beside her. "I'm sorry, I'll explain later!"

He nodded, but some strange understanding lingered in his eyes, like the shimmering remains of long-shattered memories, finally healing. If she hadn't known better, Loki would have though that he whispered "I'm sorry.", as she turned away.

"Get down behind the counter, and stay back!" She warned, and he scurried behind the bar, more mouse like than ever.

As Will took on the dark-haired suit that had been so armored with Loki, she faced the two females that had accompanied him. Surrounded, circled by the suits till they were back to back in the middle of the shop, the blonde felt for her amulets. "We've got the place to ourselves!" She whispered. "Let's kick some butt!"

She pulled out Freelancer's amulet, and the others in the cafe quickly caught on to their plan, taking out amulets of their own. In a blinding array of light, calls and monsters, the shop was soon filled,a Bonelasher, an Enforcer, Freelancer and Sabriel now standing beside their masters.

All was still for a moment, before Freelancer charged, fire-eyes bright. He clashed his shield against Bonelasher's mouth, the gaping teeth slamming shut on its long, worm-like tongue, and as it howled in pain, the tentacles on its arms and legs writhing in agony, he pined it like the bug it was, spearing it with his weapon. The titan disappeared in a stream of brown-green light, his last cry echoing on the air.

Sabriel darted forwards as the Enforcer charged a pure white beam on its third eye, her sword catching the blow, turning the tempered steel black for a moment. She wasn't so lucky with the second beam, which shot past her to turn Freelancer into a river of blue light. In revenge, she charged the bug-like creature, her sword slashing at it. It flew, barely dodging it, and the pair danced around, each trying and failing to attack the other.

The suits, now titanless as the Enforcer was distracted, and the teens the same as Sabriel darted away, faced each other in silence, fire in their eyes. The dark-haired suit growled. "Tear that brat apart!" He made to charge, but a hand slid around his wrist, jerking him around to face a stony-eyed, blue-haired woman sat delicately at the table behind them all.

"Check please!" Zhalia smiled sweetly, then punched him, knocking him out cold in one move. She stood, glaring at the unmoving body, then turned to the other suits. Taking the moment of stunned silence to his advantage, Will whipped his leg out to kick the ginger female suit, who skidded along the floor before crashing into the bar, knocked out.

The final suit tried to run, but Loki narrowed her eyes, enraged by the cowardice, and shot her neatly in the back with a well placed Boltflare.

The teens, and the last remaining titan, Sabriel having finished off the Enforcer with ease, turned to face Zhalia with grateful smiles. "You came to back us up!" Loki grinned.

The chocolate-eyed Seeker shrugged. "I come here all the time. The guy makes good coffee." Liam stepped out from behind the bar, shaken, but unharmed, cleaning his glasses on his apron.

"That explains your usual order then. One giant coffee."

Will rolled his eyes. "I guess we should thank you."

"Don't mention it." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said the other day."

The Casterwill grinned. "You really don't have to apologise. Its not like you anyway."

The older Seeker shrugged. "I'm no stranger to tough times, and, hey, I'm impressed that a rich boy like you has the guts to do work like this."

Liam huffed. "Work like what? This is a perfectly respectable establishment." He smiled weakly, sitting in one of the nearby chairs. Blue eyes turned to him, sad and apologetic.

"I'm sorry we brought this on you. Are you okay?" She sat down opposite him, Will leaning against the table behind her.

Liam, surprisingly, nodded slowly. "I'm fine, though I can't say the same for my shop..."

The teens looked around sadly, ashamed that they had inadvertently caused all this. Zhalia raised an eyebrow at the older brunette. "You're taking this rather well, I have to say."

He looked at her for a moment, hazel eyes staring deep into brown, and the blue-haired woman stepped back, shocked, getting a good look at his face for the first time.

"So I see you used to know me too." Liam sighed. "From all your reactions, I can't have been a very good person." Loki and Will stared at him in shock, and he laughed. "I can see its me who'll have to do some explaining, after all." He fell silent, eyes distant, then sighed again. "I've not always been Liam Adese, or rather, I was then I wasn't. I got mixed up in this titan business once before. I think I was a Seeker once, but..." He trailed off, then shrugged. "My memories from that time aren't exactly...clear. I didn't remember most of what happened between when I was 16 and three months ago till now, when those...those _thugs_, came in here and used their amulets."

He looked away. "I don't know who I used to be, but if it was like them, then I don't want to be that guy anymore."

Silence fell, and the team stared at him, Zhalia and Will mistrustful, but Loki just saddened by this lonely man who wasn't quite sure who he was anymore. "We did know you." She murmured, after a moment. "You called yourself Defoe, and made it your mission to track us down. For some reason, you hated Dante most of all."

Liam's head shot up, some confusion clearing from his eyes. "Dante as in Dante Vale? You know Dante?"

Loki nodded slowly. "He's our team leader, and our friend. I live with him. How do _you _know Dante, if you can't remember being Defoe."

Liam shuddered at his other name. "Can...Can you just not call me that? Please?" He looked up. "I don't want to remember that man." They nodded, and he gave them a weak smile, think how best to put his and Dante's relationship. It wouldn't be a good idea to go blurting out the fact they were step-brothers. "He was my friend, once, a long time ago. We were both just kids."

Loki sighed, standing. "The Organization will send reinforcements when they realise the first team failed. We need to get out of here." She turned to Liam. "You'd better come with us- someone might recognise you, like we did."

He nodded, and stood, looking around his little, carefully made life, before following the Huntik team, leaving his apron on the table behind him.

* * *

><p>They arrived at Will's home not long afterwards, tired and more than a little bemused at how their day had turned out. "Who knew customer service could be so draining?" The brunette laughed, shaking his head in amazement. Loki shrugged, a small smile on her lips.<p>

"Well, it helps when your customers don't work for the Organization." She sighed. "And unfortunately, we failed. Seventeen jobs in ten days, and fired from every one!"

Liam sighed with her. "I'd pay you," He began miserably. "But I really need the money to repair the shop. Its the only income I've got."

Loki rested a hand on his shoulder for a moment. "We understand."

Will nodded, not begrudging the older man. "It just means there's still no money for Loki and I to get to Egypt."

Loki shook her head, despondent. "It can't end like this!"

Will just sighed, reaching for the door handle, but it moved away from him, the grand, ornate door opening to reveal Dante leaning against the frame, a bunch of flight tickets in his hand. "Right, and it won't." He grinned at his team, before stepping back to let them inside, freezing as Liam hesitated at the back of the group. Loki ushered everyone else on, sensing that the pair needed some time alone.

"Liam?" The brunette nodded once, standing awkwardly.

"That's the name I go by now, though for friends tell me I once chose one quite different." He smiled nervously as Dante stepped out, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing here? The last thing I knew, Grier said you were here in Venice, but, how are you _here_?"

The other man tilted his head to one side. "Grier? Was he the blond one?" He shook his head, sighing. "I'm here because I hired Loki and Will at my cafe, which was then attacked because of it. " He looked up. "I'm also here because I want to be myself again, and I thought reconciliation with my step-brother would be a good place to start. The teens said they knew you."

Dante stared at him for a moment, then smiled as Liam extended a hand. He took it, and unexpectedly pulled his brother in for a hug. "Its nice to see you again, Liam."

"Its nice to be myself again, Dante."

* * *

><p>Once the pair were inside again, the reunited brothers sat down on a couch facing the teens, whilst Zhalia prowled the bookshelves that lined the room, searching the novels for a decent read. The amber-eyed man reached inside his tan coat, pulling out the items he had in his hand a few moments ago. Placing them on the table, he leant back to watch the teens' faces.<p>

"Three tickets?" Will said after a moment. "To Egypt."

Dante nodded at them as they looked up in gratitude and wordless thanks. "I heard from Zhalia you were having...complications." With a wry smile, he leant forwards again. "I went back to my office to dig up some private eye work."

Liam laughed, eyes lighting up. "I should have known that's what you'd do! A private eye indeed- that's just code for nosey."

Dante shot the other man a Look, and he fell silent again, still grinning. "Turns out, when your in a hurry, the jobs you _can _find, aren't so glamorous." He shuddered, remembering how he had to spy on an adulterous old man, who was about to commit bigamy on his elderly wife, and tracking down a lost cat in one of Venice's most exclusive art galleries.

"But, I managed to get enough of them to get us tickets to Egypt, and the lost tomb of Nefertiti." He grinned at the team whilst Liam gaped at him, astounded by the mysteries now surrounding the child he once knew.

Loki beamed at him, eyes shining. "I knew you'd come through Dante!" She laughed, thrilled that the team was back together, and back on track.

Will shrunk down in his seat. "I'm sorry I doubted you." Green eyes met gold, and Will knew that Dante understood why he'd done what he had done. The boy smiled tentatively at his mentor.

Zhalia padded around to the group, lounging in an armchair. "What about all your talk about being a pro?" She asked, genuinely curious. She'd expected Dante to _help_ pay for the flights, but not to pay for _all _of them. "I mean, a pro doesn't do the job if he doesn't get paid."

He smiled at her, but seriousness lurked in the depths of his eyes. "Maybe, but a pro doesn't let his team down when they need him either."

Liam looked at his friend with thoughtful eyes, seeing in this lion-like man the glimmering shades of the stubborn, inquisitive, and also brave and determined boy that had been both his comforting friend and worst enemy as a child. He wondered briefly if he could have become like him, if he had followed in his footsteps instead of taking whatever path he had.

His thoughts were interrupted by Loki's delighted laughter. "Let's get going to the Valley of the Kings!" She cheered, smile bright enough to light a room.

Dante nodded slowly, knowing that if he didn't act serious, the blonde would probably get so excited she'd not be able to sit still on the plane. "That's the plan, but seeing as this isn't a Foundation mission, Zhalia will be staying behind."

The woman in question paused, looking over at him with a strangely embarrassed look in her eyes. "Actually, I'd like to help out." She bit her lip. "If you'll have me."

Will was the first to speak. "I vote yes!" Loki grinned at him.

"Zhalia's our teammate. She came with us on _vacation_, so she should come with us now!"

Dante grinned, reaching into his coat again. "Then, its a good thing," He pulled out a strip of blue paper. "That I bought a fourth ticket." Thinking, he turned to his step-brother, but the brunette shook his head before he could even ask.

"I'm best staying here- no matter who I was before, I don't want to get mixed up with Seekers again. But, if you ever need a place to stay, or a cup of coffee, you know where I am." The auburn grinned, his heart warmed by the fact that after all these years, he finally had his brother back, for good.

* * *

><p>After seeing Liam back to his shop, and both brothers promising they were there for each other whenever the other needed them, though Liam didn't see what help he could be in a Seeker mission, the group headed to the airport, bound for Egypt, and the next puzzle in the mystery of Eathon Lambert, and the Amulet of Will.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Yay, chapter done! ^_^ How'd ya like it?<p> 


	50. Chapter 49 All Work and No Pay Part 3

AN: Okay, onwards with the story and upwards with the reviews, please?

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 49- All Work and No Pay Part 3

_Two days later_

_The Valley of the Kings, Egypt_

"Are you sure this is the place?" Will turned to look behind him, hair flying into his eyes as he called above the wind. "It looks pretty desolate." Loki pulled down the scarf around her mouth, frowning, before turning to the satchel hanging from her shoulder.

"I don't know." She pulled out a rugged square of blue rock-crystal. "Let me check the Cipherdex." The group huddled in silence for a moment as the machine beeped and whirred its way through the blonde's instructions. Suddenly, the blue-eyed teen shut the lid, beaming at her teammates as if they'd just told her Christmas had come early. "This is it! Its right around that outcropping."

Dante's laughter was carried away by the wind, but his eyes told the team what he was thinking. "Let's go then!" He shouted to them, moving closer. "There's no time to waste."

The teens nodded, racing off with the breeze whipping their hair out behind them, gold and brunette intermingled as they ran in step, hand in hand. The blonde, hearing something strange amidst the crying of the wind, paused and waved a hand to stop Will. Peering around the corner, she narrowed her eyes against the sand.

What she saw there both amazed and surprised her.

There, built into the cliff at the end of the valley, were two groups of seated statues, four in total, fashioned in the style of the ancient kings of this hot, desert land. Around the base of those great monuments, most of the tomb had been excavated- the archeologists camp answering the unspoken question of who had done so.

Turning back to her friends, Loki waved Dante and Zhalia forwards, hurrying their sedate walk together. "It seems a regular party." She murmured, though her tone spoke of something more.

Her russet-haired mentor took a look around the outcrop himself, then turned back to the group, confused. "An archeological dig? The lost tomb isn't lost anymore."

Will frowned, shaking his head in disbelief. "Surely this would have made the news!"

Zhalia scoffed, first to scorn the young Seeker. "And just _when _have we had time to pick up a newspaper lately?"

Dante was quick to brake up the fight. "Let's go investigate." He smiled reassuringly. "With any luck, I'll know someone down there."

* * *

><p>The group walked down slowly, picking their way carefully across the shifting sands, Loki instinctively hanging back, hiding behind her golden-eyed friend. He turned to her, head tilted to one side in question, and she shrugged, ducking her head to avoid his gaze. With a sigh, Dante shared a look with Will. Loki was no longer as innocent as she once was. It was a sad thing to see.<p>

At a glance from his mentor, Will went ahead to talk to the dig-boss. The Arab smiled in a way that set the brunette's teeth on edge. "May I help you, sir?"

The boy nodded slowly. "You might be able to. My friends and I are lost- can you tell us where we are?"

The smug smirk grew. "This is the _newly uncovered _tomb of Nefertiti."

Loki crept out from behind Dante, smiling charmingly, eyes bright and totally innocent, though the blonde was more devious than her looks belayed. "Then it would seem we aren't so lost after all! The tomb is what we were sent to Egypt for!" She beamed, and the man returned the smile, though a more sinister version.

"Many are interested. We are an excavation sponsored by the government. Are you are?"

The blonde grinned, sticking out a hand. "We're from the ancient artifacts division of the London Museum! We're having an exhibition next month!" She drew her hand back as the man just stared at her. Sensing her discomfort, Dante stepped forward.

"Are you in charge here?" His sudden seriousness, a complete contrast to the teen's hyperactivity and friendliness, made the dig-boss take notice.

"I'm not the master of the operation, though I oversee the diggers, but if you wait, I will notify my superior as to your presence. He'll be delighted, I'm sure." For a second, his eyes slid over Loki like a snake, and she shivered from the chill in his gaze. However brief the glance had been, the blonde couldn't deny that it had seemed almost..._greedy_, and the overseer _satisfied_ that she was there.

"Creep city." She muttered as he walked away, more confident over the sands than she could currently hope to be. Cherit poked his head, bescarfed and begoggled, out of her bag.

"I certainly wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley." He croaked, shaking his head to clear his ears. "Or a light one, for that matter!"

Zhalia padded closer to Dante, standing in front of the teens as they chatted and wondered. "Do you think he's telling the truth that its a government dig?"

Golden eyes turning towards her, flickered back towards Loki, then met her mocha ones again. "We'll know soon enough." He murmured, just as quiet, but not quiet enough.

The blonde padded to his side. "Yeah, coz if they send monsters out at us, we'll know for sure its not the government."

They fell silent as the overseer padded back, his eyes gleaming. He paused a short distance from them, smiling politely. "Master Klaus will see you now. He is most excited to meet you."

Zhalia froze, wondering how many people called Klaus would be at a digsite in the middle of the desert, Loki stilling behind her as the name stirred a memory she had pushed far into the depths of her mind.

They followed the dig-boss anxiously, Dante feeling his heartbeat quicken in anticipation of a fight as Loki stepped closer to him, so close she might as well be his shadow, as he noticed the fear within her cobalt eyes. It was a nameless fear born of confusion and past terror, and one he knew well- he had seen it in her eyes before, whenever she used her powers. This fear was the fear of something she knew was powerful and frightening, but something she wasn't quite sure she _should _be scared of. Who was this 'Master' Klaus, he who had scared Loki so much that the usually brave Seeker became a trembling child at the mere mention of his name, be it him or no?

Hoping against hope, Dante prayed that this Klaus was an entirely different one. It would set back all they had done to help the blonde move past her ordeal to come face to face with her tormentor again.

"The ancient artifacts division of the London Museum. It would seem we share the same obsession." Came a voice from the darkness of a tent doorway. Ancient, a mixture of the screech of nails on a blackboard and the creak of an old tree in the wind, it held no kindness or compassion, only hatred and greed. The auburn Seeker felt Loki flinch into his coat, and the remnants of his hope died with her reaction. _This _Klaus was _dangerous_.

The man slunk into the light, his face cast into shadow underneath her headdress, his hunched body clothed in a long robe of a dull grey, which sallowed his skin and darkened his eyes. "I wonder," Klaus continued, for there was no doubt this was he. "Are you looking for something special," His eyes slid to Loki as she tried to hid behind her teammates, recognising now the time-weathered man that she had seen in Wind's subterranean office, demanding her capture. "Or specific?" The hate-filled eyes returned to Dante's lion-like amber. Zhalia winced as his gaze passed over her, reading him like a book as she had learnt to do through-out her childhood. He was angry, so very, very angry, and yet today had turned miraculously into a _wonderful _opportunity.

The group remained silent, each member weighing up the situation separately, and Klaus sighed. "Well? You," He clicked an impervious finger at Loki, who jumped, scared, before steeling herself. "My men tell me you were quite chatty before. What are you here for?"

The blonde gulped slightly before moving forwards, her once fearful eyes now burning blue as the hottest flame. "We came for ideas." She tilted her chin up, defiant. "We're not actually sure what we were meant to find here. Perhaps _you _could enlighten us?"

Klaus laughed, wagging a finger as if he was an old grandfather correcting an innocent child. "Oh, very clever, but I think you know exactly what you are looking for, and what I am _seeking _too." He raised one almost-non-existent eyebrow, and Loki took a hasty step back to the protection of her teammates.

Dante raised an eyebrow in return, one subtle movement putting him between the blonde and the near-bald man. "Is that so?" His voice was dangerously soft for so perilous a situation.

The old man nodded once. "I also think you are in very grave danger!" He waved a twisted, gnarled hand, and his men gathered around them. "Men! Get them! Seize them in the name of the Organization!" As Loki backed away, a wordless cry of terror on her lips, the group of Arabs reached into pockets and pouches and pulled forth amulets.

"Sekmet!" One called, bringing forth bouts of blue-green light. The titan that appeared was one that came in a whirl of images- a flash of an amber eye, the gleam of teeth, the shine of a jewel, the whip of fine cloth, the glint of twin curved swords- then suddenly she appeared, a humanoid cat, dressed in tunics of the old style, swords in hand, claws on hand, and teeth in snarling maw.

The overseer called forth a name that was equally well known to Egyptologists. "Come to me, Ammit Heart-Eater!" The crocodile that heeded his summons was giant, huge compared even to those that lived in the Nile. Armored in fine gold, a crest of blue and purple feathers adorned the sides of her head as she snapped her fearsome jaws and lashed her mighty tail.

Loki's eyes darted from side to side as she stared at the all-too-real remnants of the ancient civilization. There stood before her Sekmet, goddess of War and the protector of Ra, and beside the cat-warrior, Ammit the Devourer of Souls, who resides by the Scales of Judgment. Both were worshiped and honored as death, and as destruction, by the Egyptians. Though centuries had passed, they were still as formidable as the day that the first stone of the first pyramid was laid down.

In the midst of confusion that followed, caused by weaponed titan and human alike, the blonde found herself separated from the team, surrounded by sword-wielding diggers, their eyes shining with evil intent. She felt her power stir inside her, angry and wild and uncontrollable, but pushed it down and away into her core. She would not use it, not even now. The power she had once used unconsciously now had a mind of its own. The mist was now a fire, and fire does not care if it is friend or foe that it scorches, so long as it has something to burn.

Beyond the wall of enemies, Will and Zhalia paired off against a sword-baring duo, who swung their weapons with grace and ease, showing off their skill, thinking it would scare the 'easy' targets before them. Neither woman nor teen blinked an eye at their foolish tricks, eyes narrowed and hard.

One man raised a hand, glowing blue, small rocks darting around his palm. "Windrush!" He called, and violent gust of air blasted towards Loki, who merely smiled and raised a hand.

"Honourguard!" The pink-gold barrier easily deflected the attack, and the blonde sighed, glad for the protection, wondering what her next move should be.

Meanwhile, Zhalia was circling with a weaponless minion, dancing the dance of blows and blocks, attacks and retreats, before shrugging and placing her hand on the tip of his nose. The man went cross-eyed to follow the movement and she smirked and spoke a single word. "Raypulse." Cast across the valley by the crackling beam of heat, it was quite obvious he wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

Another man, this one buff and holding a wickedly curved sword, had corner Will between he and the Sekmet. Thinking the brunette trapped, he charged, and was met with a swift kick to the face. The boy froze as he landed too close to the goddess titan, ducking and rolling to avoid a sweep of her blade.

The overseer and Dante were currently wrestling on the floor, the auburn pined and sat, which was making it rather hard to get up or get a hit in, if truth be told. Gold eyes narrowed against the hands around his throat, the Huntik Seeker delved into his long, tan coat. "C-come!" He gasped, pulled the hands from his neck for a too-short moment. "Caliban!"

The Aztec warrior appeared in a spark of blue, bringing with him a spear from wherever he came. Seeing his master and friend's predicament, he rushed to his side, and had just pulled the dig-boss off Dante when Ammit decided to charge him. Dropping both his spear and opponent, Caliban simply pulled a rugged dagger from its sheath on his belt, and then let himself be pushed down, the crocodile impaling herself on his artfully placed knife, disappearing into light before managing to get so much as a scratch on the armored humanoid.

On the other side of the battlefield, the workers had had enough of toying with Loki, their spells, all of varying strength, turning into dust upon her shield-magic. One clicked his fingers, and the Sekmet behind her trying to slice Will turned and raced across the sands. Keeping her guard in place, the wide-eyed blonde reached into her belt-pouch, pulling out a familiar and comforting amulet that matched her eyes for colour. "Fight with me, Freelancer!" The ever-protective fighter titan placed his shield before his mistress, using it to shove the cat titan over, then proceeded to try and crush both her and her master, which she had fallen on, beneath its glossy expanse.

The blonde stood frozen for a moment, eyes caught on the shimmering reflection of the Sekmet on her titan's shield, before a strange peace stole over her, one that calmed the incessant, frightened voice at the back of her mind. The scene matched exactly to one of the Bonding visions Loki had been granted when she had first held Freelancer's amulet in her hand. This day and all that had come before it, no matter how bleak, was meant to be, and have been. Though it was unsettling to know some part of her life was set out before her, it was reassuring that there had been no other choice than those she had taken. Whilst killing the guards outside her cell in the Blood Spiral base would haunt her darkest nightmares forever, and it was something she would never want to do again, knowing that there had been no other choice let it sit easier with her soul.

Dante, sensing the battle was going more to them than to their opponents, used a Nimblefire to quickly gain some distance, before casting a Touchram to take out the dig-boss that made to follow him, and running to back up his teammates.

Will, tired of dodging the Sekmet that had now struggled to its feet and decided on an easier target than the heavily-armored Freelancer, reached for the pendant at his throat. "Finish them, Sabriel." The ram-masked fencer appeared in a flash of peach, driving back the titan with a few masterful strokes, then cut off the cat's head with a neat swish of her rapier.

Regrouping opposite their now vanquished enemies, Zhalia smirked, as she was custom to do, though her eyes screamed apologies to her grandfather. "If it wasn't for the heat, I wouldn't have broken a sweat."

Klaus's eyes flickered to her in warning, before settling on Dante. "Well," He conceded. "It seems you are stronger than I anticipated."

Loki smirked at him, baring her teeth in a predator's smile. "We get that a lot."

The old man narrowed his eyes at her, then sniffed. "Even so, I advise you to surrender."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "You are kidding, right?"

"Oh, no." The other deadpanned. "I tend to be a very serious fellow. All of my friends tell me so."

Cyan orbs glared at him, their inner fire fierce and wild. "Whether you like it or not, we're getting in that tomb. Do _not _test me, Klaus. You know full well what I can do."

Klaus sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Since you can't seem to take a gentle hint." He reached within the folds of his long robe, his eyes gleaming the dusky red of old blood. "Engage, Brahe!" The amulet he pulled out into the harsh Egyptian sun was rounded like the shoulder pads of a rugby player, purple in colour, and dark in depth. A ball of purple fire sprang from it and buried itself in the ground, and if it hadn't have been for its shape and name, Loki might have thought it was a Metagolem that Klaus had called upon.

Suddenly, a giant paw-like hand erupted out of the ground, followed by a great, round figure, covered in markings and runes, a few of which Loki could distinguish, the most she had no idea as to the meaning. Its head, made of stone like the rest of it, was oblong, with curved corners, the mouth reminiscent of that of a hippo, but minus the tusks and fangs. About its shoulders hung a pair of shoulder guards, short scraps of red cloth peeking out of their gold-lined edge.

The team, now faced with a giant that was twice Dante's height, and four times their weight at least, took quick steps back out of range, before a cry to their left drew their attention away. Making an executive decision in the face of a giant unknown enemy, and a large group of other unknown enemies as well, Dante pushed the teens behind him, Zhalia nodding as she guessed his mind. "We should go back." She agreed.

Klaus grinned, thinking her sly, trying to manipulate the minds of the Huntik team, rather than working with them. "Listen to your friend!" He called to them. "Here, you will find only your doom."

"Go back?!" Loki cried, outraged, her eyes turning in angry defiance to Dante. "What about my father? I can't _go_ back!" It hurt even more to know that the power inside her, the one that was too dangerous and unruly to let loose, could deal with these men in moments, and deal with them _permanently_.

Dante saw the war inside her, the battle between her nature and her need, before taking her arm. "There is _nothing_ to be gained from a direct attack now." He pushed her onwards again as he took a step back. "Don't worry!" He whispered to her and Will. "We'll come back." His eyes moved to Zhalia, desperate and pleading. "Zhalia, we need a distraction. A big illusion." She smiled, and nodded, one strand of midnight-blue hair falling across her coffee-coloured eyes.

"Don't worry, I can handle this." She smirked, nonchalant. "I'll cover our escape with Thoughtspectre!" A sudden, and completely fake, sandstorm screamed around them, filling the air with dust and sand and wind, blinding all gathered before it.

And when it had faded, the Huntik team were gone, not even footprints left behind.

* * *

><p><em>Organization Central, Prague, Czech Republic<em>

One voice rang out in the circular chamber, masterful and powerful despite its age. "You used the power of the Organization to cut off one insignificant Casterwill from his piggybank?!" The voice rose from a grumble to a roar, echoing endlessly around the room, filled with anger, rage, and disbelief.

"But, sir, I believe through him we can trip up Dante Vale." The figure kneeling before the Professor tilted his head up, like a child seeking guidance.

No guidance came for Rassimov.

"Fool!" The roar rang out once more. "Do you _realise_ that you've alerted the Huntik Foundation to our infiltration of the world's banks?" He clenched his hands into fists, in a bid to control his wild temper. "You've ruined _years_ of work, Rassimov!"

"No, sir, I didn't mean-" The cool, confident, sinister man from the meeting before had become a sniveling, begging, groveling wreck. All who bowed before the Professor were forced to kneel eventually. None could escape his power, nor his command.

"Silence, dog!" The voice lowered to a menacing rumble. "Or do you need more obedience school?" The ring on his left hand glowed with a blood-red power, casting an evil mist over the dark Seeker. Unable to keep it up, Rassimov's head fell, the rest of him shaking and barely able to support himself, knelt as he was, on hands and knees.

None could fail the Professor, and hope to come away..._unscathed._

* * *

><p><em>Valley of the Kings, Egypt<em>

The team, now sheltered within a tent, gathered around Dante's Holotome, faces drawn and scared, unsure of their next move, save for Dante, who remained calm and composed even now. "Klaus is the one behind the attack in Ireland, I'm sure of it." He murmured to the face made of green light now hovering above the machine. Guggenheim nodded, serious and worried.

Loki held out a hand to gain his attention, eyes wide and filled with fear. "There's something else you should know, Guggenheim. Klaus and I have met before, in a way, during my imprisonment by the Blood Spiral. From what I could gather, he is an important advisor and operative for the Organization. The two Seeker groups seem to be allies." When the hologram of the Huntik member gave her a questioning glance, she winced and continued. "He was the one...finalizing...the details of my sale to the Professor, and was going to oversee my transfer to make sure everything went according to plan. He was a man even Wind was afraid of."

Guggenheim sighed. "I'll have to take this matter to the council. The Blood Spiral and the Organization joining is a terrible prospect for the Foundation. When you return from your mission, I'll need you to make a full report on what you know of the alliance, Loki." The blonde bowed her head in agreement, and the operative continued. "Concerning this mission..." He sighed. "I have no choice but to make this an official Huntik mission."

Loki nodded, focused and determined. "So, what now?" All eyes turned to Dante, emerald, sapphire and mocha alike.

"We find some other way into that tomb." Amber eyes grave, he turned back to the Holotome as the group shuffled closer.

"What other way?" Loki was quick to ask, sharp eyes scanning the map for possible secret entrances. Will took her question to mean something quite different.

Looking down at his hands, embarrassed, he murmured softly: "What other way indeed. I'm afraid I don't have the resources I used to." Guggenheim smiled gently at the teen, his tone kind and soft.

"Not to worry, the Foundation will support you. After all," His smile turned sly and crooked in a most endearing way. "You've proved to be an invaluable ally."

Will blinked, eyes wide and almost cautious. Stopping himself from questioning the older man- Did he _really_ mean it? Was a destitute Casterwill with nothing but his name really _that_ invaluable?- he murmured his thanks. "I truly don't know what to say, Mr Guggenheim." Loki nudged him, grinning, her eyes clearly saying that it was a first.

"Say nothing, my lad." Guggenheim replied kindly. "Just continue your good work. The same goes for the mission."

Dante bowed his head, shaggy russet hair falling into his eyes and casting dark shadows across his face. "Leave it to me, I have a plan."

The Holotome's emotionless voice reeled out the documents Guggenheim had just sent over, bringing up a map of the tomb and the surrounding outer area. "Mission: The Tomb of Nefertiti. Access the Tomb of Nefertiti, uncover the Organization's plot in Egypt."

The team gathered around, sifting through the files for something, _anything_, that would give them the upper hand against this Klaus, and whatever else he would have up his sleeve.

* * *

><p>A while later, the teens stood by the door, padding out into the evening gold, needing fresh air after being stuck in the tent. Seeing Loki's morose expression, Will forced a smile on his face. "Don't worry. We'll think of something!"<p>

The blonde tried to shake off her sadness, the fear of meeting Klaus again and the threat he posed making it near impossible. "I just can't help feeling that every day we waste, my dad gets further and further away. Its already been six, nearly seven years."

Will gaped at her as they walked past Dante and Zhalia, his voice fading as they padded away, his shock at her lack of usual determination evident. "You've just got to have a bit of faith, Loki. We'll find him, you see."

Dante was about to follow them when he paused, turning to the blue-haired woman by his side. "That Organization bigwig, Klaus," He stopped, facing her before continuing, his amber eyes pleading with her to let him in, for her to tell him and to not hide her fear when he could take it away. "I had a feeling he knew you."

She was quick to dismiss it. Too quick. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Is it possible you might have fought him before?"

She turned away, eyes filling with terror as soon as he couldn't see them. "I don't think so." Zhalia muttered, keeping her voice even and level. "And I always remember my enemies."

And she walked away, hiding her pain and fear behind a cold, cold mask that no one believed anymore, sad golden eyes watched her go, before turning to watch the sunset before them. The light, reflecting off his eyes and making them shine like the sun itself, made him almost as blind as the blue-haired Seeker must think he was, to not see she was hurting. "Just what are you trying to hide, Zhalia?" The last word, her name, was almost a caress, a gentle whisper none would hear, that held his heart and world in two syllables, to drift away without a care on the cool desert breeze.

* * *

><p>AN: Yay! Episode over! Onto the next one!<p> 


	51. Chapter 50 The Sceptre Deception

AN: OMG THIS IS THE 50TH CHAPTER! Who knew, right? I never thought my little baby, once just a scene from the chapters that make up episode 13, would grow into a proper full-grown, full-blown fic. *sniffles* Happy 50th Chapter, the Seeker Within!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 50- The Sceptre Deception Part 1

_Valley of the Kings, Egypt_

The suit paused in his patrol of the camp, watching the door of a tent with narrowed eyes. Open, the fabric flapped in the breeze, catching his attention. Remembering that the door had been shut before, he approached cautiously, pulling the door to one side and peering around the tent... not noticing the feet poking out from under the curling fabric.

On the other side of the now open door, Loki held her breath, eyes closed, biting her lip, and praying to whatever gods that might answer that he leave, and leave _soon. _The sand and dust disturbed by the door was whirling around her face, and she was gonna sneeze any minute if she couldn't move away. Shifting slightly, trying to find a clear pocket of air, she froze again as she heard the suit move closer, closer, then pausing as a strange shadow appeared on the outside of the tent. Frowning at the mysterious shape, the suit left to investigate.

The blonde teen stayed still, watching the shadow of the suit move around the tent. His voice reached her ears through the thin fabric. "Huh?" The figure shrugged. "Must have been a bat." He walked away, continuing his patrol, and Loki breathed a sigh of relief.

"All clear." She murmured to the seemingly empty tent, and her teammates emerged from their hiding, Dante appearing from behind some crates, Zhalia shrugging off the blanket she had concealed herself with, and Will lifting the lid of the box he had hidden in, shaking his head before clambering out. The blonde, the appointed look-out, hadn't had time to find anywhere to hide, and at the last minute had to make do with staying perfectly still. The most obvious of things can be right under your nose, if no one thinks to look there.

The team gathered around the desk at the back of the tent, Loki waiting at the entrance for Cherit to fly through. When the little titan came back, she walked with him to the others, beaming. "Nice one, Cherit. Thanks for the save."

The white creature returned her smile, giving her his customary thumbs up. "No problem, lass. That's what I'm here for!" Dante looked up as the pair drew near, eyes turning to the titan flying before him.

"Cherit, can you go keep watch for the others?" He asked, drawing his Holotome from one of his many pockets.

Smiling, the titan saluted before flying of, calling back over his shoulder. "Will do!"

Placing the Holotome on the table, Dante gathered the team around him, keeping his voice low, and tone serious. "My Holotome has managed to create a bird's-eye view of the Organization camp." He murmured, opening the device and bringing up the image. "Nefertiti's tomb is near the middle." He pointed it out with a finger, as Will gaped at the hologram.

"It's huge! They've really gone all out." Loki nodded, moving back to sit on a camp bed, pulling a series of oddly-shaped metal rings and frames, threading them together before beginning to untangle them, keeping her hands busy so her mind could wander.

"Maybe they're looking for a nice ancient vase to decorate the Professor's office?" She quipped, eyes distant. Dante shot her a smile, appreciating the humor to lighten the mood, before turning back to more serious matters. Pressing a button on the Holotome, he brought up a picture of an ancient staff. Emeralds tipped the long shaft, the hilt a bar of solid gold, topped by a ruby encased in golden horns, reminiscent of the structure atop the goddess Hathor's head.

"From what Guggenheim told us, Klaus is after this." He nodded towards the 3D photo. "The Sceptre of Nefertiti."

Loki darted forwards again, curious, her eyes scanning the object with avid interest. "What's that writing all over it?" She asked suddenly, bringing Will's attention to the overlooked detail.

"It looks like," He said after a moment, thinking hard. "The instructions for a Seeker Power!" He turned to Dante in askance, and the auburn nodded solemnly.

Zhalia tilted her head to one side, considering possibilities, before settling on the most likely. "I've heard of this." She said slowly. "Its the power Neverlost. It lets a Seeker detect energy radiating from hidden amulets."

Will nodded, having obviously heard of it before. "It could be useful. Do you think we can use it to find the ancient Amulet of Will?"

Dante shook his head, quick to dissuade the young Seeker. "I doubt it could pinpoint our prize. Legendary titans have many ways of protecting themselves. But the power would at least point us in the right direction."

Loki beamed at her teammates, the light in her eyes clearly saying a riddle had been solved. "That must be why my dad was here. It was hoping it could help him." She gazed at the staff thoughtfully for a moment, before shrugging, her interest in the object gone. "It sounds kinda lame, though. Its no fun if a power just _tells _you where the amulets are. Where's the challenge in that?" She sat on the bed again, turning her attention back to her puzzle.

Will rolled his eyes. "You are so weird, Loki." She grinned at him, slyly.

"And you're not?"

Zhalia sighed, shaking her head at the pair. "The challenge, Loki, is finding the Sceptre, then learning its magic." The blonde looked at her for a second before shrugging, the challenge not difficult to keep her interest.

Dante laughed softly at the trio, before turning their gazes back to the Holotome. "Our mission: Retrieve the sceptre, and any clues about Eathon Lambert." He tapped the machine, and figures of the team appeared on the map. "We'll be splitting into two teams." When the two males paired off on the screen, Will perked up.

"Does this mean I'm with you, Dante?" The russet-haired man nodded, grinning.

"Yeah. We're going to set up a little distraction over at the explosives shed." The emerald-eyed teen wooped excitedly.

"Awesome!"

The team laughed, before Dante pointed to a tent near the centre of the camp. "Zhalia, it looks like this tent houses Klaus' chief arcitecht. Go there with Loki and Cherit, and get us a map of the tomb."

Loki grinned. "This is fantastic! We never get to team up, Zhalia!"

The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes, smirking. "What a shame." She moved down the tent, taking down a box from a pile, opening it and searching around.

Dante sighed, looking towards the tent door. "It's still light, but we have to make our move." The teens nodded, murmuring their agreement, Loki staying quiet as something nagged at the back of her mind. The gold-eyed man drew them close, murmuring a warning to the rookie teens. "Now, remember, Klaus is the most effective Organization agent we've seen to date. He'll sniff out Nefertiti's sceptre very soon."

Loki paused, freezing as she finally remembered what had her so on edge. "Dante, the sceptre might not be all he'll sniff out. When I was with the Blood Spiral, when I had the vision of him with Wind, they mentioned something about the attack in Ireland." Everyone paused to look at the blonde, even Zhalia in her rifling through the box, where she had been hiding her writing in a book she would later leave for Klaus to find. "According to Wind, and to Klaus, they took something from me, something that can act as a tracking device."

The room fell silent, considering this information with solemn and scared wariness. "I'd forgotten about it, the mention was very brief, and the vision was so short. If he can track me... It might not be safe for me to stay around you." Loki said slowly, thinking. "If he can track me, then he'll be able to follow us wherever we go if I stay with you. It might be best...if I left." Will immediately shot the idea down, his and Dante's arguments in harsh but quiet voices making their disapproval very clear.

Dante finally managed to quiet the brunette, before facing the blonde tilting her chin up so she would look him in the eye, amber meeting worried cyan. "If he can track you, which is unlikely seeing as he hasn't found us yet, then do you really think we'd let you go knowing he could and would follow you? You'd be in danger, Loki, and none of us want that. If you stay with Zhalia, she can protect you, and then you'll be back with the team and we can all protect each other."

Zhalia stood, hiding the book, and taking out the bundles of cloth she had gone looking for. Throwing one at the blonde's head, with a last-minute warning of "Take this.", she passed the others to Dante and Will.

The Casterwill held the hooded robe away from himself, even as Dante and Loki put theirs on. "I'm sniffing something too!" He cried, disgusted. "Zhalia, this hasn't been washed in _weeks_!" The blue-haired Seeker rolled her eyes, before pulling on her own robe.

"Oh, I'm so _sorry_, my lord." She muttered snarkily, glaring over at him with her hands on her hips. "Would you like me to take it to the river and beat it with a wet rock?"

An annoyed sigh broke up the argument quickly, Loki standing by the door, foot tapping on the floor in impatience. "Come on, guys, this is important!" Realising that there was no other choice, Will sighed, pulling it over his head with a barely suppressed shudder. Smiling now, Loki opened the door, slipping out with a quiet "Let's get moving."

* * *

><p>Once outside, the blonde tucked her trademark locks into her hood, anxious to keep her identity hidden, before whistling softly for Cherit. The white titan came to her wordless call, curling up in her hood. Zhalia quickly followed the blue-eyed teen outside, and the pair padded away. "You know," Loki said after a moment's hesitation. "You fighting with Will every five seconds is getting way old."<p>

Mocha eyes narrowed, unseen as the woman paced forwards, anger toiling in their depths. She had to keep Loki, keep the whole team, away from her. She wasn't safe to be around now Klaus was in the picture. Her debt to the man was too great to ignore. "Not as old as your fantasy of finding your long lost father."

Loki froze, coming to a halt, staring after Zhalia with wounded eyes. "What?"

Zhalia sighed, trying not force herself to ignore the hurt in the other girl's voice, telling herself not to turn around, knowing to look in those puppy-dog eyes would make her resolve crumble, but at the sound of Loki trudging morosely along again, feet dragging and heart heavy, she knew she couldn't ignore the blonde's pain. "Loki, I didn't mean it, something's got me on edge, that's all." It wasn't an apology, exactly, but it was enough to bring a smile to the girl's face again. She bounded over to the blue-haired woman, eyes forgiving her instantly.

"I know your a really good person, no matter how you act." Zhalia inwardly cursed the teen- why was it she always knew exactly what to say to make her doubt herself, doubt her path, and forget her debts and family! "I couldn't have got this far without you." She looked away as they carried on walking. "Finding my dad isn't just a fantasy. Its the reason I became a Seeker in the first place. You must have had a reason too, right?"

"The reason, was that I wanted the power to take care of myself." Zhalia pursed her lips, thinking, but something about the blonde made her want to say, to tell her what she had told no other. "You see, when my parents died, I was left on the streets. I had nothing. Not even that."

"So what happened?" Loki asked, enthralled.

"Someone helped me. He didn't make it easy, but he gave me a chance."

"Just like Will and Dante did for me." The blonde murmured quietly. "After all they helped me through, I'd do anything for them. They're my family now."

Zhalia nodded, sighing. "For that one that finally helped you, that gave you a chance and became your family, you'd do anything."

That single word echoed around her mind.

_Anything._

After all she and the team had been through, could she still do _anything _to defeat them?

* * *

><p>On the other side of the camp, Klaus was studying a map under the bright Egyptian sun. A suit padded over to him, eyes narrowed against the glare. "Sir, what are we to do about the Huntik Foundation team that escaped yesterday?"<p>

The old man smiled, baring his rotten teeth. "I have a puppet in their ranks. When they return, I'll track them and pull her strings, and arrange a lovely _trap._"

* * *

><p>Back with the girls, Loki's devious mind had come up with the perfect distraction to get Zhalia into the architect's tent. Acting nonchalant, the blonde walked in front of the two guards outside the tent, fiddling with her puzzle. She was instantly stopped, the larger of the two men grabbing her arm hard enough to bruise.<p>

"Hey, girlie, don't I know you?" Loki smiled sweetly at the pair, though seemed distracted, her eyes constantly flicking back to the puzzle.

"I'm the new gopher. The head digger told me to find someone who could solve this puzzle."

The guards laughed. "Dat stupid thing? Who cares?"

Loki's smile turned sly. "They found it in the tomb. head digger said two promotions to anyone who solves it."

The men immediately took interest. "_Two_ promotions? Give it here kid, we can solve it."

Loki stood back, occasionally giving the men hints that just entangled the links even further. Zhalia sneaked into the tent behind the struggling duo, almost laughing at the looks on the guards faces. "What a _sneak!_" She smirked. "Looks like there's hope for that kid yet."

She slipped into the tent, swaggering towards the desk. "Say, is that the map of the tomb?" She reached out towards it. "I'm going to need to borrow it."

The architect, a thin, rat-like man, protested, leaning forwards protectively over the map. "I'm not permitted to give this map out!" He whined, glaring petulantly at the woman before him. "And who are you? I haven't seen you around!"

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Zhalia pulled back her hood. "Simplemind!" The red glow spread from her eyes to his, surrounding him, before it faded, and the man collapsed to the floor, unconscious. "I'll bring it back, promise." She smiled coyly, before running to the tent door, waving for Loki to get away, grinning when she saw the girl's next move.

"No, no!" She cried to the guards. "You'll break it if you do that!" She reached forwards, grabbing the puzzle and messing it up, making it even harder to solve. "That should help!" She chirped, handing it back. The men looked at it in confusion.

"Is it just me," Said one. "Or is this getting worse? I'm sure I moved this piece before..."

Leaving the men to their now unsolvable puzzle, Loki just turned and walked away, winking at Zhalia as they joined up and headed back to the tomb.

* * *

><p>Over on the other side of camp, Will was sneaking up behind the explosive shed, a manic grin on his face. It was a perfectly simple plan, which also made it simply perfect. He'd distract them, then the shed would go kaboom. Now behind the little explosion-in-waiting, Will leapt atop a barrel, then onto a crate, then the roof, before lowering his hood.<p>

"No point sneaking around if I don't have to." He reasoned, shrugging to himself, smirking, before standing up on the roof.

"Hey!" He shouted down to them, almost laughing, barely keeping a straight face. "Morons! Up here!"

As the suits guarding the shed looked around in confusion, Will leapt down from the roof, grinning. "You clowns are working for a real bigwig." He laughed. "You could at least spring for a proper suit!"

The suits squinted at him from behind their sunglasses. "Hey..." One said slowly. "That's the Casterwill boy! Klaus warned us about him!"

"Is that so?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, come and get me, _if_ you're good enough!" He turned and ran, the suits giving chase, disappearing behind an outcropping before dropping to his knees, pretending to be out of breath.

Back at the abandoned shed, Dante came out of hiding, placing a small detonator on the explosive's sign on the door, smirking, before running after Will.

The boy was knelt with his back to the approaching suits, taking deep breaths before drawing on all his power. "Two birds with one stone- no pressure." He murmured.

The suits stopped a short distance away, charging Augerfrosts in their palms. "Klaus will be very happy about this!" One cried, triumphant.

He spoke too soon, unless he meant that Klaus would be happy they'd been defeated.

"Doublespell! Raypulse!" Twin beams of crackling heat burst from Will's hands as he spun around, catching both suits in the chest, blasting them back, where Dante caught them by the collars, smirking at his young friend before bashing their heads together.

Smiling as if he hadn't a care in the world, he glanced back over his shoulder. "We'd better get going pretty soon."

Will tilted his head to one side, frowning. "Why, how much time is on the detonator?"

Dante grinned. "Ten seconds."

Emerald eyes widened at him, amazed he could be so calm, before turning and legging it, his mentor right on his heels.

* * *

><p>The '<em>boom' <em>a scant few seconds later rocked the valley, shaking the tents, and even made a few collapse. Smoke rose on the still desert air, a great grey-black smog that blocked out the sunlight. And where there is smoke, there is fire- a great roaring blaze that flickered and danced and writhed, threatening to spread to the other buildings, and engulf the entire camp.

From their hiding place by the tomb entrance, Loki and Zhalia admired the boys' work with wide eyes, and even wider smiles. The dig-boss didn't look so happy, however, listening to a report on his ear-piece, before going white as the underbelly of a fish. "The master will be furious!" He gasped, eyes wide and panicked. "Everyone! To the explosives shed, immediately!"

The suits and diggers amassed around the tomb instantly scattered, and Loki sniggered as they ran past. "Either Klaus just ordered them to take up jogging," She whispered to Zhalia, triumph colouring her tone. "Or Dante's plan is working!"

The blue-haired woman gestured for the teen to be quiet, hushing her, but one of the retreating suits had already heard _something_ coming from behind the barrels where they were hidden, and had paused, watching the cylinders carefully. "Now what?" Loki turned to her older friend, looking to her for a solution. Zhalia was the best at sneaking around- the only time the blonde could manage it well was when she was pranking Will.

The blue-haired Seeker fingered the heel of her boot thoughtfully, then nodded. "Lead him away." The blonde shifted, turning away from Zhalia, tensed and ready to run. "We'll meet up at the entrance, okay?" Loki nodded, before darting up and away like a rabbit. The suit gave chase, instantly recognising her golden hair.

As soon as the teen was gone, Zhalia switched the phone in the heel of her shoe on with a flick of her finger. It immediately began to ring. Wincing, the mocha-eyed woman pulled the phone out of its secret compartment, before answering. "Yeah, this is Zhalia."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Loki was charging around the now abandoned camp, twisting between tents in an attempt to lose her pursuer, to no avail. Running to one tent, she hid down the side, praying he hadn't seen her come this way. Through the corner of her eye, she saw the suit pause, looking around, before pelting towards her again, having caught sight of her long robe fluttering around the bend. Cursing her luck, and the suit, the sapphire-orbed teen raced off again, Cherit flying out of her hood to look around for a way to slow the suit down. Spotting a long pole left conveniently lying around in the door to one tent, he grabbed it as Loki ran past, before using it to trip up the suit, and let them both get away.<p>

* * *

><p>As the blonde ran back to meet up with the others at the tomb, Zhalia was folding her phone up and tucking it away, padding to the giant stone arch, a newly sabotaged map in hand. Smiling as Loki rejoined her, she headed inside, spotting Dante and Will lounging in one corner, grinning at each other whilst watching the smoke billow and dance on the breeze outside.<p>

Loki ran over to Will, pulling off her robe and discarding it as the boys had already done, before high-fiving her emerald-eyed friend, wooping. "That was so cool!" She beamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Next time we blow something up, I wanna help!" Zhalia sighed, rolling her eyes at the blonde, before handing Dante the map, avoiding looking at him as much as possible, lest he see in her eyes the guilt she so greatly felt. Pulling her robe over her head to look away, she let the auburn study the map in silence as the teens watched excitedly.

"The Organization have been working overtime," He said slowly. "This is nearly a complete map of the tomb of Nefertiti."

Zhalia shook her head, fixing her head from the pains of wearing a hood, before glancing out the door, and sighing. "As exciting as cartography is, we should do something." She flickered her hair out of her eyes. "Our diversion is no longer that diverting." Dante looked up from the map, gold eyes thoughtful, before spotting a giant obelisk at the end of the hall. He frowned, weighing up his options, but survival weighed out against preserving the artefact.

"Lend us strength, Metagolem!" Glowing purple, he pulled out the rocky amulet belonging to the giant titan. The kingly stone man appeared out of the ground, bowing to the assembled Seekers before awaiting orders. Dante merely tilted his head towards the pillar, and Metagolem nodded with a noise like an avalanche, before taking three, giant, earth-shaking steps to the obelisk, ripping it up, and replanting it in front of the door.

"That should buy us some time." His Seeker muttered, recalling the rock-king in a stream of amethyst. "Holotome," Golden eyes narrowed at the machine as Dante pulled it out his pocket. "Scan the map." The device did as it was bid, the light from the scanner revealing a myriad of hieroglyphs on the back.

Loki looked at them with interest, trying to remember what little she had learned during her Egyptology phase when she was younger. "Any idea where my dad was headed?" She looked up as the scan finished, and a 3D map appeared in hologram on the Holotome. Her mentor sighed before answering.

"No," He admitted sadly. "But, they haven't mapped this area," The auburn pointed down on side chamber, calling forth a Boltflare to light its dusky depths. "So the Sceptre must be close."

Steeling himself for what lay ahead, Dante took the first step, leading his teammates and friends down, down, down into the darkness, the eyes in carved relief on the walls watching them as they went, neither blessing nor cursing those who had intruded upon their rest.

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><p>AN: I love Egyptology, so expect a lot of unwanted and unnessecery details concerning gods, demons and hieroglyphs in the next chapter!<p> 


	52. Chapter 51 The Sceptre Deception Part 2

AN: OMG I HAVE JUST REALISED THAT SEASON ONE IS HALFWAY OVER...AT LEAST! *sniffles* Its so sad! Soon it will be over, and then I'll actually have to go watch the second season to see if I can do it. The storyline might be so full of plotholes by the time this is over, that I might not be able to manage...

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 51- The Sceptre Deception Part 2

The team wandered along the corridors of ancient history, down in the darkness lit only by Dante's Boltflare, and when he got tired, by Loki's power. The blonde tripped over a jutting stone in the floor, catching herself on the wall, before grinning bashfully and hurrying after the others. When she did the same thing a while later, suspicions rose in her mind. The fourth time it happened, she was sure something was up.

"Dante," She murmured slowly. "Is something wrong with the Holotome? I think we're going in circles."

The russet sighed, pausing to turn and look at his teammates, gold eyes filled with worry. "We're going the right way, but," He sighed. "The information from the map is inconsistent."

Loki sighed, her doubts confirmed. "Looks like the Organization messed up after all." The blonde frowned, trying to remember what she could about map-making. "Are you sure they used a straight-edge for the lines?"

Dante started forwards again, shaking his head. "I'm not sure that's the problem..."

Suddenly, he leapt forwards, a golden grid rising from the floor where his feet had been a moment before, a second one appeared behind the rest of the team, trapping them inside a small box. Turning in mid-air, their auburn friend went to help, unable to when the stone beneath his feet disappeared, leading down into a dark pit. Falling, the gold-eyed Seeker reached out to grab the edge of the drop, but missed, tumbling down. Flipping the right way up, his legs glowed blue with a Hyperstride before he'd even touched the bottom. Leaping up, it seemed like Dante would get free, till a third metal grill barred his way.

Then, when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse, a hole opened in the ceiling above Dante's prison, and sand began to slowly trickle down, first a few grains at a time, then a raging yellow-gold torrent.

"He'll be smothered!" Loki cried, no longer concerned about herself. Eyes narrowed, she raised a hand to the portcullis that was stopping her from going to her mentor's help. "Boltflare!" The metal bars glowed bright gold, but save for that, did nothing.

Will cursed. "The bars absorb magic!" He began to pace, trying to think of a solution. His Breakspell wouldn't work, as the trap wasn't magical, so what would?

Zhalia sighed, padding to a wall and sitting with her back against it. She turned to Loki, who was frantically running ideas through her head. "Seeing as the usual rules of magic don't tend to apply to you and your," She waved a hand. "Mist stuff, you can just blast us out."

The blonde froze, her sapphire eyes wide, biting her lip and frowning. "I-I'm not sure that's a good idea."

The blue-haired woman scoffed. "Oh, right, so its a good idea to sit here and do nothing?"

Will span to face the girls, glaring at Zhalia. "Don't you get it?" He growled, and Loki glanced over at him in shock and surprise. "Those markings, the ones around her neck," He flicked a hand vaguely in the blonde's direction. "They block her from controlling the mist power. Its not _safe _anymore."

Zhalia grimaced, shaking her head. "This just keeps getting better and better. Though I don't know why _someone,_" She narrowed her eyes momentarily at the blue-eyed teen, and she looked away, embarrassed, after shooting Will a quick glare for spilling her secret. "Didn't tell us about this sooner."

Loki turned back to the bars, trying to see down into Dante's trap. "Dante!" She called out to him. "Are you okay?"

The ever-calm voice floated back to them. "I'm fine." The team sighed with relief.

"Can you get out?"

"No." Dante's tone was irritated, though not at the blonde. Why hadn't he seen the trap before they blundered into it? "But, there should be a release mechanism nearby."

Loki's puzzle-manic eyes immediately scanned the room, anxious and all too aware that they were on a time limit here. Her eyes settled on a box on the ceiling on the other side of the pit, one bearing the symbol of an ankh, meaning life. Thinking it could be the key to saving Dante's, and spotting the little key-hole beneath the ankh, she almost smiled.

Will shook his head, frowning. "Even if we could reach it," He gestured to the bars blocking the way. "We don't have the release key!" Zhalia sighed, and looked away, back down the corridor they had come through. Had she heard something?

"Maybe we won't need it." Loki grinned now, a plan forming in her head. Grabbing something from her pocket, she put her hand through the bars, so that neither her magic nor her titan were trapped inside, a purple amulet in her grasp. "Help us, Springer!" Black smoke, dotted with purple stars, swept along the floor, gathering at the edge of the drop before solidifying, and becoming the ever-familiar squirrel, his fire-eyes bright.

_"Where is the puzzle, puzzler-lady? I no solve hole, hole is hole is hole." _The titan muttered, shaking his head and making his long ears flop back and forth. Zhalia couldn't help but agree with his silent disagreement.

"Newsflash," She snarled. "Springer's _not_ a flying squirrel."

Loki groaned. "I should have thought of that!" She looked between Cherit and the bars, wondering if the titan could fit, before Dante decided to take his fate into his own hands.

"Looks like Springer needs a lift!" Leaping to the top of the sand pile, which was now higher than he was tall, making a new floor of shifting grains, before Hyperstriding up to grab the grill above his head, reaching a amulet-clasping hand through a hole. "Solwing!"

The three-winged bird circled the pit for a moment, getting his bearings, before swooping down and taking a scrawny, furry squirrel shoulder in each taloned foot. Glad to be getting carried over by someone he could trust, Springer still chatted his fury at being carried off at all. Solwing dropped his little passenger on a ledge at the bottom of the Ankh symbol, then hovered in the air in case the other fall. The purple creature immediately reached into the key-hole, scrabbling around whilst glowing a soft amethyst.

Down below, Dante tried to push back the rising sand with a Touchram, but was smothered by sand before clawing his way to the surface, coughing and spluttering.

The squirrel was now immersed in the puzzle, his entire head, ears and all, within the mechanism. "Hurry, Springer!" His Seeker called to him, azure eyes filled with fear. "We don't have much time!"

Will paced back and forth behind the bars, like a captured tiger. "What if he can't break it?"

Zhalia stood in a swift, fluid move. "Then Dante better learn to breathe sand, fast."

The trio watched in fascination and horror as the lock glowed a vibrant gold, dim at first, then brightening after Springer gave the device a frustrated kick. The bars retracted, and the team rushed to the brim of the hole in the floor, anxious and scared as to what they would see. Relieved smiles broke out as Dante grinned up at them, the sand disappearing in flashes of gold. Sharing the weight, the teens threw down a rope, their mentor grabbing on and clambering up like a monkey. Loki threw her arms around him as soon as he got to the top, laughing delightedly.

"Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER scare me like that again!" She clamored in his ear, refusing to let go. "Its my job to be the accident prone one." Blue eyes shining, she stepped back, beaming, as the team laughed, the truth in her words ringing out.

Suddenly, her eyes dimmed, confused, head tilting to one side. Whilst they had celebrated, Springer had jumped into the pit, squeaking excitedly, leaping around in an attempt to get his Seeker's attention. "_Pu-u-uzzle! Pu-uzzler-la-ady! Lookimelookimelookime! LOOK A ME!_" The blonde sniggered- the squirrel sounded like a toddler when he was being ignored- before peering over the edge of the hole again.

"I think Springer's found something." Thrusting the rope into Dante's hands, she leapt over the side without another thought, leaving him to grab at the rope as it slid through this fingers, bracing against the teen's weight.

"Loki! Wait!"

"I'm afraid its too late." The voice was unfamiliar, Arab, powerful. It demanded respect from the diggers, but not from the Huntik team. Dante grimaced, looking between the approaching Organization dig members, and Loki, with worry clear in his eyes. The blonde below seemed completely unfazed, focused on the little titan who was sat atop a stone that was jutting out of the wall, dancing and gesturing, obviously adding a speech that only his Seeker could hear.

Sighing, the russet-haired man tied a large knot in the rope, then wedged it into a crack in the floor. It would have to do. He needed his hands to fight these men off.

"There is no escape for any of you!" The voice continued. As the light that cast the men into silhouettes dimmed, gold-, emerald- and coffee-coloured narrowed in hate and fear. It was the overseer, the head-digger, the men behind him diggers and guards from the burning camp.

Unaware of the danger, down the pit, Loki had reached Springer's dancing figure. "Okay, what is it Springer?"

The squirrel paused in his scamperings, before hopping up and down on the stone. "_Isa pu-u-zzle! Puzzle for puzzler-lady, yes, yes, puzzle for yo-o-ou!_" He grinned, fire-eyes bright and beaming. "_Solve it, yes, yes, this is easy, even for silly two-leg-stander-ups._"

A voice drifted down, startling her before she could press what she assumed to be a button. "Anytime you want to join us, Loki?! We're in a bit of a spot here!" It was Will, and he sounded panicked. The blonde scoffed. What was more important than a puzzle?

Studying her father's journal, pulled from the pouch at her waist, Loki nodded, deciphering a string of hieroglyphs on one ruined page. "I think I've found something, a secret passage." She yelled back up. Dante frowned, shaking his head. Why did this girl _always_ find a way to make things difficult?

"We'll meet up with you, Loki!" He shouted, slipping into a fighting stance. "Go! See what you can find!" The Arab suits paused, nervous, then took a hasty step back as a blue wave of light surged down the corridor, an Aztec warrior appearing mere seconds later. Hoping to take up some of the space in the hall, green flooded down the hall like a blaze of emerald fire soon after.

"Take flight, Icarus!" The Grecian, who found himself strangely at home in the Egyptian tomb, flapped into existence. The two titans stood side by side, a wall of spirit beings between the Organization and the Foundation agents. The head-digger smirked.

"Fantastic! We outnumber them!" He pulled out a gold and blue amulet. "Cast judgment, Ammit Heart-Eater!" The giant armored crocodile sparked into the world in a burst of yellow light, like a sun blooming beneath the earth. A man at the back followed his leader's example, calling forth a Sekmet, bidding it to bring destruction down upon the heathens in his land. The head-digger looked at his men in exasperation.

"Foolish men- invoke more titans!"

The men shuffled their feet. "But, Boss, there's no more room in this hall!" One muttered, looking away. The overseer snarled, but could not fault them- what they said was true.

Icarus, taking advantage of their distraction, loosed a bolt of lightening at the giant crocodile, moments before Caliban smashed into it. Falling backwards, the Ammit fell onto the cat warrior behind, pinning it to the floor as it wriggled about on its back trying to get to its feet.

Seeing the men mutter and shuffle backwards, Will turned to Dante. "They're going to make a run for it!" The auburn nodded, a wicked smile on his face, before charging down the corridor, leaving the others to hurry after him. The head-digger went white underneath his tan.

"Men! Back off! Much haste!" He gasped, turning tail and running. The others in his group didn't get time to do the same before Dante, Caliban matching him pace for pace, caught up with them, whipping out a leg to get a roundhouse kick to one man's face. The Sekmet, now free from its reptilian prison, stepped forth to meet with the Aztec warrior, pulling back its blade to strike. The blue-armored titan just lashed out with a fist and punched it in the face before it could take action. In the midst of the fighting, gold eyes sought out brown.

"Zhalia, back me up!" Dante struggled through the mass of enemies to her side, grinning still, his blood surging with the glory of combat. "Touchram!" Rolling her eyes, the blue-haired woman did the same, and their twin blasts of green magic sent the two titans in their path flying left and right. Clearing the way, the adults made to chase after the men who had fled, before noticing Will casting an anxious glance towards the pit Loki had disappeared down. Whistling to get the boy's attention, Dante waved for him to hurry up and, with a last look down into the darkness, the Casterwill raced after them, leaving the blonde to explore whatever secrets she had found.

* * *

><p>Said blonde was wandering through the lower levels of the tomb that the passage had led to, feeling slightly like a packhorse, with Cherit on one shoulder, and Springer on the other, the purple titan curled up into a ball, fast asleep. As he gave yet another yawn, Loki smiled softly at her little friend, before holding up his amulet and allowing him to retreat back into its safety. A sleeping puzzle-master was no good to her anyway.<p>

As the corridor reached its end in a grand, illustrious arch, decorated here and there with faded colour and pictures, the blue-eyed teen stopped suddenly, almost sending Cherit flying. "This is it!" She cried, eyes drawn to the series of hieroglyphs in a cartouche over the top of the doorway. "My dad was here, Cherit!" Getting out the book to check, some of the Egyptian letters looking a bit too similar for her to be immediately sure, the girl nodded as they matched perfectly.

Cherit nodded absent-mindedly, still slumbering. "Aye, that's great news. Now, keep it down, before you wake the whole tomb." His voice, kind and warm, yet ancient and antique, seemed to Loki to fit right at home down here. She imagined that he was what History sounded like. Padding forwards, almost scared as to what she would find, the blonde placed a hand against the stone door, and took a deep breath before pushing it open.

* * *

><p>Up above her, the rest of the team were running through the maze of tunnels, now trying to lose the diggers instead of finding them. Ducking down one passageway, then another, they seemingly disappeared, much to the diggers' surprise. The overseer growled, shaking his fists at them. "Find them!" He snarled. "The master will not be pleased!"<p>

* * *

><p>Down beneath their feet, Loki was staring around the chamber with dim eyes, shoulders stooped, the very picture of lost hope. "Its just like inside my head on test day!" She sighed. "There's nothing here. Someone's looted the place." The ancient room looked grand in its faded splendor, but most of the treasures it contained were gone, leaving the room bare and desolate. It seemed sad, almost as if it missed the wonders it once held. Cherit flew from the girl's shoulder to look around as the girl examined the wall, reading the markings there with interest, even though it was tempered by her disappointment as to the room's state.<p>

A hum of surprise made her half-turn, and seeing Cherit's face as he gazed at a set of pictures on the wall, padded over. "Maybe it was someone we know." As Loki drew near, she gasped, almost falling over as the shock knocked her sideways.

The markings weren't hieroglyphs, the items there not existing in the times of the ancient Dynasty. The trio were drawn in a neat line under the other pictures, in a scruffy, messy style of drawing that the blonde recognised immediately.

"Daddy?" A single tear fell from her azure eyes. Cherit looked between her and the drawings, confused.

"A bicycle, a puzzle, and a puppy." He read out the images, thinking. "Looks like any good child's Christmas list."

Loki nodded, tracing the carvings. "Yeah, it was mine, when I was, like, six." She wiped a tear from her eye, smiling crookedly. "I can't believe it."

Cherit tilted his head to one side. "Could it be a message of some sort? One that only you can decipher, Loki."

The blonde sighed, turning away to think. "The thing is," She said slowly. "I didn't get any of those things. Grandma got me a bird." She smiled at the fond memories, remembering the day that Cheep, her bird, had first sung. When he had died, she was heart broken, and had wept for days. Cherit's voice broken through her thoughts.

"Isn't there an Egyptian hieroglyph like a bird?"

Cyan eyes lit up, Loki spinning around, dashing back over to the wall lined with buttons, each one carved with a hieroglyph. Eyes darted from side to side, before she grinned. "There!"

An Ankh, bordered by two canary-shaped birds. Mindful of a trap, she stepped back. "Farslip!" The green finger flashed out, pushing in the block, which clicked and slid forwards.

Mouth hanging open, Loki reached inside the drawer that appeared, taking out the cylinder within. It was curious, covered with holes, and each row that made it was able to be twisted and turned. "Your father," The white titan murmured. "Must have left this corral puzzle for you."

"It's like he knew I was going to be a Seeker someday." She smiled, weakly at first, then growing. "Knew, or planned on it!" Beaming, the blonde allowed herself to imagine the future she had her father would have had, and still would share- the two of them side by side, fighting evil and finding titans together, as he had trained her to do, secretly, all her life. Suddenly, a flash of an idea lit up the dark expanses of her mind. "Hey, look at the design..."

"Why? Have you seen it before?"

Balancing the puzzle in one hand, she reached into her belt-pouch with the other, pulling out her father's journal and flicking through the pages with a finger till she found what she was looking for. "Its exactly like the one in his journal. I'm sure its a clue from my dad, and I know its gonna lead me straight to him!" She grinned at her titan friend, her heart shining clearly in her eyes, before bending her head to the puzzle, holding it close to her.

"_I coming, Papa._" She thought. "_I'm coming, so just wait for me. I'll run as fast as I can, and I'll catch up with you. I promise._"

* * *

><p>AN: So closeth another chapter. Cherit's accent is so bad, it took me forever to figure out what kind of puzzle he was calling it. In the end, I got my DVDs out and put subtitles on...<p> 


	53. Chapter 52 The Sceptre Deception Part 3

AN: Up and at 'em, people! Just like my chapters will be, hopefully...

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 52- The Sceptre Deception Part 3

Far beneath the hot desert sands, in twisting tomb and endless labyrinth, the team wandered, walked and searched, both for each other, and the Sceptre. Whilst the blonde and her winged companion paced the lower levels, the main body of the team were following the Holotome through the upper corridors. Dante led the team, dark head bent over the shining map, russet hair hanging over his golden eyes, Zhalia at his side, coffee eyes hidden behind her midnight-blue locks, Will a shadow at their backs, emerald eyes burning in the darkness as his over-active mind leapt over a thousand different possibilities as to Loki's current situation. He could be forgiven for worrying- his feelings for her, and her track record for getting into all sorts of mischief, gave him more than enough clay with which to build a brick.

Looking up from the machine in his hands, Dante nodded once, before tucking it into a pocket, one of many in his long coat. He padded forwards with confidence, and Zhalia, curious as to her teammates' opinions of her grandfather, slunk after him, keeping to the shadows out of habit. "So," She murmured slowly, loathe to disturb the peaceful silence of the tomb. "What happens if Klaus gets the Sceptre before we do?"

A sigh echoed as they entered a hall, its ceilings high and its walls intricately carved. "Then we should all start looking for a new line of work." Dante's dry tones only lent more weight to the words. Will nodded, agreeing.

"He won't just be able to find the Ancient Amulet of Will," The Casterwill muttered, eyes narrowing at the thought. "He'll be able to find all the Legendary titans."

"Up against that much power, the Huntik Foundation wouldn't last a day." His mentor added, moving across the room to peer up at the far wall.

"Forget that," The brunette behind him cried. "The whole _world_ would be under the thumb of the Organization!"

The auburn turned to face them both, his eyes molten gold fires in his intelligent, angular face. "I can't emphasize enough how critical this mission is." He turned back to the wall, and both Will and Zhalia were relieved to be freed from that intense, unwavering stare.

Finally deciding that the only interesting place in the room was the wall Dante was examining, the boy padded over. "What _are _those markings?"

"A hieroglyphic riddle." They all instantly wished for Loki's presence, and her odd, useful knowledge. "The ceiling is rigged to collapse if we don't solve it before trying to open the door." Eyes flickered upwards nervously, anxious, before turning to the wall.

"I guess this is an obvious question," Zhalia drawled, swaggering over as if the death trap above their head didn't bother her. "But can you _read _hieroglyphs?"

A flash of a grin. "Yes."

"Fantastic," She smirked. "What's the riddle?"

Dante took a deep breath, his voice lowering to a steady, chanting rhythm, falling and rising like a wave upon the ocean.

"The power of my rule is like the void. My physical strength is ten thousand times greater. Grasp that power in grains of sand, and pass."

Zhalia sighed, rolling her eyes and steeling herself for a tedious wait. "I guess we'll be here a while." Will pouted miserably, looking over at the golden scales in the middle of the room. A bowl sat by the center of the two sides, filled with yellow, gritty beads.

"We have to measure out grains of sand?!" He shook his head. "How many? At least ten thousand, right?"

Dante smirked, a sly twist of the lips, before walking over for the door and reaching for the handle, resting his fingers upon it lightly. Zhalia noticed whilst Will fussed around the sand, and edged towards the hallway, should the roof cave in. Emerald eyes flashed with fear, darting between Dante and the way out, considering doing the same. "Dante?" The boy said carefully. "What are you doing?"

Solemn amber orbs regarded him seriously. "It's a trick question. The answer is right there on the wall."

Zhalia stood under the arch leading to the maze of corridors. "We're going to be spread all over that wall too if the ceiling falls." She snapped, glancing at the roof with fear and worry.

Will ran to the wall, his back to it, face white and eyes large. "Be careful!" He warned, knowing if his mentor was wrong, they were all dead. The auburn stayed where he was, calm and confident.

"Nefertiti wasn't a warrior. She was a great manipulator, a leader, but her physical strength _was_ like the void. Nothing. Zero." He pulled the lever that made the door handle, and the others flinched into the walls.

Nothing happened, save for the rumble of stone as the door split in two and opened to salvation. "Ten thousand times zero is zero."

Sharing an amazed and relieved glance, boy and blue-haired woman ran over to join Dante by the door, peering into the antechamber with astonishment and wonder. Will beamed at his mentor as he gazed around the room they had just unlocked. "Of course! You've done it!"

The auburn smiled briefly, before turning serious once more. The small room was made of sandy stone, as was the rest of the tomb, but the floor was covered in mis-matched tiles, each a different shape and size, covered in symbols and writing. A small platform-like area of clear stone lay before the door, and at the other end of the hall, floating serenely in a halo of golden light, was the Sceptre of Nefertiti, their prize hovering so tantalizingly close and yet so devastatingly far. "Unfortunately, I don't think this next puzzle is going to be so easy." The gold-eyed man murmured, the pair behind him raising their eyebrows his way of describing the near-death experience.

Will nodded, biting his lip. "That floor looks _very_ unstable." Zhalia eyed the tiles anxiously, and moved back towards the door. She was a tricker herself, sure, but that didn't mean she had to like traps. Add that to her already paranoid mood due to the close proximity of her grandfather, and you have the ingredients for a very twitchy blue-haired lady.

"I'll go get Loki whilst you figure this one out." She turned and left before Dante could reply, leaving Will to think a moment before shrugging. If anyone could find the blonde in this Egyptian maze, then Zhalia could.

The coffee-eyed Seeker darted around a corner, made sure that she couldn't be heard by the Huntik team she had left behind, and slipped her phone out of the heel of her shoe. Dialing the number with practiced speed, she sighed miserably, half of her wishing for the days when she had no such qualms about betraying her so-called teammates, the other half wishing she didn't have to betray them at all.

* * *

><p>Up on the surface, his team lounging around him, basking in the harsh sun like lizards, Klaus picked up with a terrible, eager, hunger on his aged face. "How wonderful! Well done." He hung up the phone quickly, and the men around him stood silently and swiftly, like hounds with their ears pricked, sensing a hunt. "Let us go. If you can, capture the men for my experiments. Remember to leave the girls alone."<p>

* * *

><p>Back underground, Dante was crouched at the edge of the 'platform', studying the runes etched at his feet with interest. Will hovered at his side, wondering as to their meaning, before the russet-haired man sighed and leant back on his haunches. "The Egyptians sure did love their math." He muttered darkly, eyes shadowed with thought and frustration.<p>

The boy at his side made to ask a question, but stopped as the patter of feet rang out behind him. He stood, ready to fight if need be, then relaxed as first Zhalia, then Loki with Cherit on her shoulder, ran into the room. By the size of the smile on the blonde's face, and the brightness of her eyes, the little detour had not been in vain.

"I found a secret room!" She chirped happily, eyes shining. "And a puzzle from my dad! I _knew _he was leaving clues for me!"

Will, seeing Dante's shut-off, detached face, realized he was in Seeker-Mode and stayed silent- his mentor's mind was on the setting where he needed to get the artifact, and get out, before goons showed up or someone got hurt. Right now, it was probably the right thing to do, with the situation getting worse by the minute, but this was Loki he was talking to. The brunette couldn't help but think it was more than a little cold.

"Loki," He acknowledged softly, not lifting his eyes from the markings he was looking at. "I'm glad you're here. We need your help."

The blonde pouted, the shine in her eyes turning from happiness to the glimmer of disappointment. "Hey, secrets, puzzles, cool stuff." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Doesn't anyone want to hear what I found?" Dante sighed, half turning to peer at her from the corner of one amber orb.

"I do, Loki, really." His voice was kinder now, warmer, but still held that note of authority. "But if we don't get the Sceptre first, we're in big trouble. I have a feeling we don't have much time."

Even as he spoke, the ground trembled and shook around them as a blast rocked the land above. The obelisk blocking the front entrance had been destroyed, blocks of shattered stone now littering the tomb's main hall as Klaus and his suits poured into the darkness.

Now fueled with panic, and urged on with the knowledge of a time limit, Loki unwound the rope around her waist, handing one end to Dante before tying it back around herself like a harness. "If the floor is as unstable as it looks," She muttered, eyes distant, clouded with thought as she wandered down paths of possibilities, trying to find the answer to the riddle before her. "I don't want to find out what's underneath it." Glancing around, cyan eyes narrowed, her hand drifting uncertainly towards her belt-pouch, where all her titans lay, her neck no longer a safe place to hang them. The delicate fingers brushed the bag, before the golden-haired teen shook her head with a sigh. Muttering to herself, she bent to pick a rock off the floor, throwing it into the air above the team, whilst they looked on in confusion. That confusion cleared when beams of purple light erupted from the walls, burning even the stone to naught but dust.

"Thought so." Loki grinned reassuringly at them. "Better to check than to waste my energy calling Kipperin." She turned back to the Sceptre, her voice almost sing-song. "Someone thought flying would be too easy."

Dante thought for a moment, worried now, before his eyes settled on the little titan flapping by his ear. "Cherit, I don't think you'll trigger it. Go with Loki and read off the riddles."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "I can read them myself," She turned to smile at the now drooping creature. "But I could do with the company." He grinned back at her, swooping to fly by her shoulder.

"I'll stay low," He croaked. "Just to be, ah, safe."

Taking a deep breath, the puzzle-manic placed one careful foot on the first symbol directly in front of the door. A glowing fire appeared at the girl's left, and Dante frowned. "Go left." She nodded, getting Cherit to read the riddle at her feet so she wouldn't have to crouch.

The titan muttered in Egyptian before crying out: "The power of fire adds to Set himself." A ankh made of fire appeared suddenly in the air before the pair, and Loki smiled.

"In ancient Egyptian numerology, one holds the power of fire, and three holds the power of Set."

Will nodded once. "Four stones, Loki, quickly." The blonde darted along, just as the fire-ankh shot a purple laser at the place she had been, the stones she stepped on crumbling behind her till she reached the safe one.

"I could work that one out myself, Mister Know-it-all. I'm not that bad at math."

"Keep going!" Dante yelled, anxiously watching the symbol hovering ominously at the end of the hall. Pulling a face, the flaxen-haired teen turned to the next riddle.

"Osiris was divided again and again." Cherit read, flying close to the tiled floor.

"Osiris was cut into fourteen parts, the number of division is two!" A humming filled the air as the ankh charged up again. "Seven!" She ran, almost falling as the stones collapsed, the ankh making the air sing with heat. She sighed as she stood at last on the safe stone, the one behind her crumbling, half her back foot still resting upon it. With a cry, she slipped and almost fell, Cherit going to help her. She waved him back to the riddle, clambering to her feet quickly.

Dante, and the rest of the team, now too far back to see much, tied the girl's safety line to one of the pillars by the door, before running back. "Hurry, Cherit!"

The titan nodded as the symbol for infinity appeared overhead. "Fire and division stand side by side."

Loki bit her lip, thinking. "One and two together..."

Will shook his head, shouting out, "Twelve!" With a start, the blonde ran, only just managing to avoid the purple flame. Her bag, however, wasn't so lucky.

"The bag!" Zhalia gasped, as it caught alight, burning softly in the light of the tomb. Dante, hearing her, felt his eyes drawn to the fire.

"Loki! Lose the bag!"

The girl stopped on her safe stone, panting, nearly bent over double from all the sprinting she was doing. Spotting the fire the others were yelling to her about, she pulled it from her shoulder, about to throw it when something stilled her hand.

While her father's journal was still safely inside her belt-pouch, the corral puzzle he had left her was inside the burning satchel.

Somewhere at the back of her mind, Loki could vaguely hear Cherit telling them the next riddle, '_Bow before the power of Isis', _and Dante's muttered translations to Will, the math genius, and him yelling out the answer, thirteen, in turn. Spinning on one heel, she ran as she was bid, almost pulling the satchel to her chest, her hand unmoving. Eyes, filled with panic and yearning, scanned the team across the room, hoping one of them would hold the solution. None could meet her eyes, save for Zhalia, whose mocha orbs were fixed on her own azure ones, a strange spark of recognition in their coffee depths. Turning her face away, closing her eyes against the tears and pain, Loki threw her bag, her hope, her dreams, into the dark abyss beneath the riddle-floor.

Zhalia, blue-black hair hanging over her eyes, felt her mind pull her down into memories.

_She muttered something, seeing the sadness on the teen's face. It wasn't an apology, exactly, but it was enough to bring a smile to the girl's face again. She bounded over to the blue-haired woman, eyes forgiving her instantly._

_"I know your a really good person, no matter how you act." Zhalia inwardly cursed the teen- why was it she always knew exactly what to say to make her doubt herself, doubt her path, and forget her debts and family! "I couldn't have got this far without you." She looked away as they carried on walking. "Finding my dad isn't just a fantasy. Its the reason I became a Seeker in the first place." She smiled up at her older friend, the picture of innocence, naivety, a precious quality in someone who had seen and endured so much pain and suffering._

Eyes steeling with determination, the night-haired woman grabbed the rope Loki had left behind, throwing one end to Dante with a shout before jumping over the edge after the falling satchel.

Down below them all, swinging back and forth whilst shaking the bag to try to put out the fire, all she could hear was a mess of shouts and cries, riddles, questions and answers, the occasional flash of fire lighting up the darkness of the black hole.

"Left!" "Five!" "Dante!" "Forward!" "Multiply by division!" "Eight!"

Then Loki's clear tones, loud above the noise. "We need to cheat, else we're not going to make it!"

Dante shook his head, voice strained under the burden of holding both ropes. "Get back! Its too late!"

"This is too important." The blonde murmured, oddly loud against the sudden silence. "Hyperstride!"

The room went silent, still, frozen as she leapt across the open space. The beam from the ankh sliced through her safety line, and Will cried out in horror as she went too high, the fires lining the bridge between wall and ceiling flaring in preparation for an attack. Even as the blonde fell, back into the safe-zone, the fires lashed out in a whip of flame and heat.

"Augerfrost!" Dante dropped Loki's severed line, still clinging to Zhalia's, his free hand coming up at the same time as Will's, their mingled spells neutralizing the fire of the Sceptre chamber's magic.

As the boys battled with the chamber, the teen they were protecting grabbed the far edge, almost falling short before reaching out a hand. Cherit, satisfied that she was safe, flew to get the Sceptre. As he neared the artifact, it glowed viciously, sending him back. This was an instrument for humans alone to wield.

The boys, also satisfied that the blonde was safe, joined their strengths together to pull Zhalia and her precious cargo from the pit, the Seeker reaching the climbing out at the same time as Loki on the other end of the hall. Holding her breath, the girl reached out a trembling hand towards the Sceptre.

It paused in its bobbing in midair, the markings along its length glowing bright and burning, before flickering as if confused, and fading once more. Puzzled, but certain that the staff wouldn't play any tricks on her, Loki took the Sceptre from the air, and claimed it for the Huntik Foundation.

As she did so, a flash of blinding white light burst in the centre of the room, so bright that all who look upon it had to shield their eyes. When it had gone, a walkway of tiles now led across the gaping chasm between the team and the wand-bearing teen and her titanic companion.

Not trusting the Sceptre entirely, Loki raced across it as fast as she could, not wanting it to crumble beneath her. Reaching the other side a little breathless, she offered Dante the Sceptre wordlessly.

Instead of taking the artifact, he pulled her in for a fierce, brief hug, before tucking the staff into a particularly long pocket in his trenchcoat. Not a moment after he had released her, did Will nearly knock her over with the force of his tackle-like hug. He muttered some relieved, almost-angry words at her about not putting herself at risk again, before letting her go to hide his tears. A quick voice at the back of the Casterwill's mind said he should be used to this kind of situation by now, but he pushed it away, not comfortable with the idea of Loki in danger.

After escaping from her other teammates, Loki turned to Zhalia, who silently held the satchel out to her with a solemn look on her face. Ignoring the proffered bag, the blonde threw her arms around the taller woman's neck, smiling as wide and as big as she was able. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She trilled, not able to see the surprise and bewilderment in her friend's coffee orbs. A slow, soft smile spread across the woman's lips, and she returned the hug one armed before pulling away and handing Loki her bag back.

"Nice job." Dante smiled crookedly. "But the Organization are on their way, and I expect they'll want a word with us."

* * *

><p>Suddenly sober again, the team ran back into the dark tunnels and puzzling passageways that made up Nefertiti's tomb, praying that suits and diggers weren't just around the corner. Slowing after a bit, conscious of Loki's tiredness, the team tried to figure out a plan. After letting them flounder for a bit, the blonde reached forwards and tapped one of her mentor's many pockets. He stared at her for a moment, before reaching inside and pulling out his Holotome. The azure-eyed girl grinned at him as he lead the way.<p>

"With our map, we should be able to find a safe way out, right Dante?"

Padding through a doorway, head bowed, the russet-haired Seeker nodded. "Maybe." He looked up, seeing the waterfall, the rocky walls...and Klaus and his suits. "Maybe not."

"Thank you for recovering the Sceptre, Dante Vale!" The old man called down, sneering at them. "You've saved me a bit of effort."

The auburn sighed, looking behind and seeing suits and diggers had blocked the passage they had come from. "...Klaus."

Their enemy grinned at them, revealing crooked, rotten teeth. "At your service. I've come to take the story of you annoying the Organization, and put a happy ending on it. Now hand over the Sceptre, and the blonde." Loki bristled at his tone, a scathing reply on her lips, when Dante turned around.

"Follow my lead." A ghost whisper, almost silent. Taking the staff out of his coat, Dante held it up in clear view. "Klaus, if you want them, come down here and get it!" Klaus snarled deep in his throat at his impertinence, whilst his lion-eyed enemy pulled an amulet from his pocket. "Freelancer!" Dante's titan, a friend and cousin of Loki's own, appeared and stood before the group, shield ready and lance waiting.

Klaus, far smarter than the team's previous opponents, knew a tactical advantage when he saw one. "Stay where you are and bombard them!" A chorus of Raypulses followed his order, the head-digger at the base of the waterfall ordering his men to attack whilst the Huntik members were pinned down, a trio of Sekmets appearing immediately. Will and Loki, seeing straight off that Freelancer alone wouldn't be enough to hold back the cats, called on their own titans, Sabriel appearing in a flash of pink, and Lindorm in a flare of Casterwill-like green. Zhalia, not wanting to commit to the attack in any form, but knowing her cover would be blown if she didn't, fired a couple of spells at her grandfather and his posse, purposefully going wide.

Suddenly, she felt eyes on her back, and turned, seeing Will's emerald orbs on her. "Zhalia, invoke King Basilisk!" He urged her. "His Stone Gaze can take out Klaus from here!"

The double agent frowned, then shook her head confidently as if she had already thought of that. "I don't have enough power left." Will sighed, disappointed, but didn't press her any further.

The suits up top, wanting in on the action, called forth another trio of titans, bug-like Enforcers this time. Their powerful light beam attacks were caught on the gem of Freelancer's shield, bouncing back in all directions, almost hitting Klaus.

Dante, thinking fast, turned to his teammates. "Buy me some time!" He darted away from them as they called on spells to do as he had asked. Running to the water's edge, the Seeker once more held the Sceptre of Nefertiti aloft, waving it to get Klaus' attention. "Klaus! You can have the Sceptre of Nefertiti," He grinned mockingly. "But you'll have to swim for it!"

Will, catching the last of his mentor's shout, cried out at the same time as Klaus as the staff of gold flew through the air, glinted once in the lights of the battle, before disappearing beneath the waves of the waterfall's pool.

Standing atop his rock cliff, the old man pointed with an imperious finger at the last place the Sceptre was seen. "Get it!" He screeched to his men, before his voice lowered dangerously. "I'll deal with the girl." Reaching inside his jacket, he pulled out something small, and clenched it in his fist.

Down below, Loki cried out as the markings around her neck, the ones which for so long had been dull, nearly lifeless, now blazed to life, the pain driving her to her knees, vision blurring and close to blacking out. Her eyes shone with blue-grey mist, drowning out the real world, and dragging her down into the darkness of her mind.

* * *

><p><em>This time it was not the pure black of the Professor, nor the red-black or blue-purple-black of Klaus's suits in Ireland, but an ugly black. It was green, but only in the sense that it was bad, that something was wrong with it. It wasn't the comforting green of Will's eyes, nor the ancient green of forests, not even the cold green of emeralds, just... sickness.<em>

_"OBEY!" A voice screamed through her mind, bring a wave of pain with it. This voice was as different from the others as its colour- it wasn't just a voice, it was slimy tentacles of syllables, winding coils of words, slithering like snakes and eels. It was Horror._

_"NO!" She screamed back into the darkness, trying to find strength from somewhere, _anywhere_, to fight back, trying to find her way back to the real world, where her strength was far greater than that of this frail-bodied, strong-minded old man._

* * *

><p>And in the real world, Lindorm flickered out of existence as his Seeker fell senseless to the floor, Will spinning on a heel, eyes wide as he caught her, standing shakily till Dante turned at his cry, Zhalia following, taking the blonde from him. Eyes narrowing in thought as the two remaining titans closed in a half-circle to protect them, the russet-haired man lifted his head to glare at Klaus, before summoning Freelancer to him with a whistle, passing him the girl, and diving into the pool. The team swam to the waterfall, the titan holding Loki with his normal sized arm, and pulling them both along with his stronger, oversized one.<p>

* * *

><p><em>And as they did so, the blonde sighed in the depths of her mind as she grappled with Klaus's dominating personality. Distance, distance was good. Distance would free her. She just had to hold on.<em>

* * *

><p>Even as they disappeared behind the cascading water, Klaus's suits found the Sceptre in the murky depths of the water, climbing out and carrying it reverently to him. "Sir, I have the Sceptre." The golden rod was passed to its new owner.<p>

"And the girl? Those meddling Huntik Seekers?"

"No trace, sir."

"Did you check behind the waterfall?" The suit paused, then bowed his head shamefully.

"There was a secret passage. They've escaped." He cringed, awaiting punishment, but Klaus turned away, his voice almost gentle.

"No matter. I have my ways of finding them." The old man winced as Loki got in a particularly painful mental hit. "And they got us the Sceptre of Nefertiti. I should thank them." He raised the staff aloft in one hand, tucking the small item in his other hand back into his pocket. "With this, the Organization will rein supreme!"

* * *

><p>Darkness, but this time the light-dark of closed eyes, not restricting or restraining. The pain around her neck and soul is gone, her shackles open, freedom waiting just beyond her eyelids. With a sigh, and a wince, azure eyes opened to the strange sight of a cream-coloured sky that moved and swayed a few inches above her head. Brain befuddled and slow, it took her a few minutes to recognise it was a tent roof. She turned her head slowly to one side and, seeing the rest of her team crowded around a Holotome on the other side of the tent, sighed again, this time with relief. They were safe, all of them together and safe.<p>

Still tired, and unwilling to move, Loki lay there a little longer, watching and gathering her strength. The team seemed rather upset about something, Will hissing in angry whispers, Dante's voice a low rumbling sound filled with pain and hidden worry, Zhalia saying nothing at all, but pacing anxiously. It was Cherit, flying in panicky circles at the peak of the tent roof, who saw her first. With a hoarse cheer, he zoomed towards her like a furry white bullet, hugging her tightly as far as his little arms could reach. Though it was a struggle, and worryingly tiring, the blonde lifted a hand to half-hug him back.

At the titan's cry, the rest of the team saw she was awake, and hurried over, crowding around her as Dante helped her to sit up. She saw guilt in his amber eyes, and pain, something mirrored in the eyes of each and every one of her teammates. "How are you feeling?" Her mentor asked softly, avoiding her gaze.

"Just...tired." She managed to whisper, her throat as sore as if she had been screaming for hours. "How long was I out?" Will darted away, reappearing with the water canteen a few seconds later.

"A few hours, maybe more." He murmured. She smiled her thanks, taking a small sip before swallowing. Instantly, her throat was soothed, and she almost closed her eyes in relief, but didn't for fear that she would fall asleep again.

"What happened after I... you know."

Zhalia smirked, leaning against a stack of boxes at the end of her bunk. "We high-tailed it out of there."

"And the Sceptre?"

"Klaus got it." The mocha-orbed woman admitted quietly.

A hand on her arm drew her attention to the man at her side again. "Loki, what happened in there? You..." He paused searching for words. "The markings around your neck lit up again," She made to interrupt but he gave her a Look that said that there was more. "You were glowing too. Your hair, your eyes, even your _skin_."

"It was Klaus..." The tent fell silent. "The thing he stole from me...He used it." She bit her lip, trembling, and looked away. She had never told the others what the thing did, what had happened when it was used before. "Whoever holds it, and uses it, can track me, can see where I am through my eyes. Its not accurate, I think, just a sense of direction. They can also fight me for control, in here." She raised a shaking hand to tap her head. "The closer they are, the stronger a mind they have, the harder it is to fight. That's why I fainted- it was too hard, fighting Klaus and staying awake at the same time." Taking a deep breath, she plowed on. "That's also why I fainted the last time...The shock of them taking whatever it was from me, along with fighting the suits for control...I probably would have woken up like I did now once they went away, but they gave the thing to their master, and he was a lot stronger, stronger even then Klaus. I could only beat him because he was so far away."

A hoarse voice, Dante's voice, managed to choke out, "Who? Who was it?"

Loki sighed, resigned. "It was the Professor." Gathering her courage, she looked up at her friends.

Will was white, eyes wide and staring in his too pale face. Dante's face was dark with anger, his eyes shadowed with worry. Zhalia was hiding her face behind her waterfall of dark locks, her eyes unreadable. Only Cherit moved, and that was to beat his wings to stay aloft.

Facing the barrier that had come up between her and her once friends, Loki struggled to sit up on her own. "I...I guess I need to go. If Klaus still has what he stole, I'm just endangering you by being here." A hand on her shoulder stilled her, shocked her.

"You," Dante murmured in a firm, barely controlled voice. "Are going nowhere." Loki flinched at his tone, looking away. This was it, she thought, this was the part where they sent her somewhere she couldn't be used against people. This is the part where they lock her away.

A gentle hand tilted her chin so she was forced to stare in his amber orbs. "Loki, don't you understand how important you are to us? If we let you go now, there's no telling what trouble you'd get into- trouble we need to be there to help you with." His mouth set into a stubborn line. "Trouble we _will_ be there to help you with. We are _not _going to abandon you, not today, not tomorrow, not _ever._"

Will nodded, fire in his eyes, some colour returning to his cheeks. "What the Organization has done is no fault of yours. We're with you, Loki. I'll try and find a counter-spell." He shook his head. "I just wish you hadn't kept this from us for so long." She winced, but he grinned at her. "Its time I could have spent researching!"

Cherit said nothing, just giving her his customary thumbs-up, before settling down on her knees for a sleep.

Loki's eyes, anxious and filled with hardly-daring-hope, moved to meet Zhalia's guarded pair. The older woman stayed silent for a moment, then padded to sit on the edge of the blonde's bed. "I'll stand by you." The teen stared- never had she heard such anger in the other's voice before. It took her a moment to realise that this was anger for her, not at her. "I'll help fix this."

The team shared a relieved smile, before Dante stretched, grinning. "Well, now that that's sorted," His eyes gleamed. "Back to the matter of the mission."

Will's mood immediately soured. "I can't believe an evil man like Klaus got the Sceptre. Its not right." Loki patted his hand soothingly.

"He did kinda have an ace up his sleeve."

The brunette snorted. "A black ace."

Dante nodded slowly. "Yes, this Klaus is always one step ahead of us, in Ireland, and when we first got to the dig." Loki bit her lip, then shook her head.

"From what I can tell, what he stole doesn't allow him to listen to me. He wouldn't have found out from it." Will nodded, eyes darkened with thought.

"And in Ireland, he didn't even have it yet! He must be using something else."

Zhalia looked away, towards the tent door. "I'm going to make sure no one followed us." No one saw the fear and guilt in her eyes as she walked away, head held high but spirits low. Dante looked after her for a moment, then turned back to the teens. He frowned.

"Even though he had...whatever it was, it still doesn't explain how he knew exactly where to ambush us once we got his precious Sceptre, or even that we had it in the first place." Loki scooted up on the bunk so the auburn could sit between her and Will.

"Dante..." She murmured slowly, an idea brightening up the dark expanses of her clever mind. "I told you he was tracking me before we left for the tomb...If you knew he was tracking us, why did you lead him straight to the Sceptre? _Please_ tell me you had some sort of back-up plan!"

Leaning back, the older Seeker scanned the outer walls, their thinness showing that no one untoward was listening outside, before a smug and crafty grin spread across his angular face. "As a matter of fact," He winked at the teen's shocked faces. "I did. I placed a tracking device on the Sceptre. With a man like Klaus, the only place to hide something is right under his nose." He flicked Loki's for emphasis, and she stared at him with wide eyes, speechless.

Will shook his head in disbelief. "You _let _him have the Sceptre?"

Dante nodded, serious again. "The secret it holds may be important, but knowing _who_ your enemy is and where to find him is even more important."

Loki beamed, understanding lighting up her azure orbs. "I get it!" The blonde crowed. "It'll take time for him to learn how to _use_ Neverlost from the Sceptre." She laughed delightedly. "But _we _can use your tracking device to find his secret base long before that!"

Dante smiled at her, a smile that was all teeth, like a lion on the hunt. "We may have lost the battle for the Sceptre, but now we have a chance to win the war." His voice lowered to a dangerous rumble. "We have the enemy in our sights."

* * *

><p><em>Organization Central, Prague, Czech Repulic<em>

"We have acquired the item." The dead, toneless voice echoed around the circular chamber, its owner's pale skin translucent under the neon lights. Padding closer to his current master, Rassimov waited dangerously long before adding, "Sir."

The Professor's thin lips twitched into a menacing smirk. "At last." He murmured. "We control the Sceptre, and with it the Amulet of Will is within my grasp. The pieces are falling into place Soon my puzzle of domination will be complete, but still there is a piece missing." The old man rounded on his minion with ferocious anger. "What of the girl? The Lambert child? Has Klaus failed me?" Rassimov bowed his head in silent confirmation of the other's suspicions.

"Very well, Rassimov. You know what you must do."

The Russian narrowed his eyes in unseen contempt, before turning and marching away, back into the dark and endless night of the subterranean lair.

* * *

><p>AN: Woop! Chapter done! Thank God that's ones out of the way- I hate making Zhalia seem evil, even if its against her will.<p> 


	54. Chapter 53 The Bookshop Hunter

AN: One of my favourite episodes. Dante says "piggies!" Ah, I laughed for ages the first time I heard that...

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 53- The Bookshop Hunter Part 1

"We've entered Austrian airspace, undetected."

Loki turned from where she was gazing out of the window of their compact Huntik-loaned plane, her eyes meeting Will's as he gave the team a thumbs up, the radar before him coming up clear. Pulling his headset off, Dante span his chair around to face the pair behind him, Will doing the same in the co-pilot's seat. As Loki and Zhalia waited silently, he pulled his Holotome from one of the many pockets in his signature trenchcoat, opening it, it's soft whirring the only noise between the tense silence of the team.

"Holotome, online." It intoned emotionlessly. "Tracking display initiated." A green globe, luminous and tiny, zoomed in to show Europe in closer detail, a tiny red plane flashing up. It moved quickly along a white flight path to the city of Vienna. Cherit, perched as he was on the Dante's chair, chirruped quietly to himself.

"I say, he's moving a great distance, isn't he?"A sly smile crept across the face of the russet man before, his eyes reflecting back the image of the machine.

"And we're right on his tail." A grim, serious light flickered briefly in his eyes before he frowned, thinking. "It looks like we're heading for Vienna."

Loki leant forwards, resting her chin on her clasped hands, eyes dark with thought, their usual frivolity gone. "Are we going to try and get the Sceptre back?" She shivered at thought of its immense power in this Klaus's hands- power that, along side her own that he had stolen from her, would allow him to find the world's strongest titans with a wave of his hand.

Dante paused a second, then lounged back in his chair, the serious air replaced with one of mischief and trickery. "The Sceptre was never the goal."

Zhalia tilted her head to one side, hiding her worry as to this new development, one that she would have to tell her grandfather about... "So what's the real prize?" She kept her voice as level as possible, praying that the cracks in her mask she so dearly felt wouldn't show.

He grinned at her, too caught up in the inner, meticulous workings of his clever plot to see. "I placed a homing device on the Sceptre to track Klaus back to his base of operations," Dante told, suddenly remembering that she didn't know yet. The midnight-haired woman's eyes flashed with fear, so fast that none could see, but it settled in her heart like a black weight, bearing down on her soul. Klaus would not be happy that she had missed this. "Where he keeps the Bottle of Djinn." Dante crooked his finger to his teammates, leaning forwards to tell them the plan, his amber eyes gleaming like those of a lion on the hunt.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, deep in the dark labyrinth of Vienna, hidden in a black, seclusive corner of that mysterious city, Klaus was clutching his prize, holding it to and fro in the light to watch the candle's flame make the gold and jewels dance and shimmer like the Sun itself was trapped beneath its delicate frame. "Such simple creatures," He muttered hoarsely, his mind wandering back to the devious ploy he had used to obtain the rare artifact. "They always move just as I wish. The power of Neverlost..."<p>

His thoughts drifting to the spell, and the things he could do with its powers, he reached into the desk before him, and pulled out a slim, black, oily-looking machine, a dark mirror of Dante's Holotome. "I'll unlock it soon enough." He opened it, and a ring of ghostly symbols, made of grey smoke, appeared before him. Touching one, he set the machine to Input Mode.

"Technonomicon, scan this power." He smiled, this happiness showing on the weathered crags and plains of his face, as symbols and hieroglyphs made of fire and light, all purple in colour, rose from the staff now laid across the machine's scanner. "And save it for later."

He waited till the trail of magic finished with a vibrant, violet burst of flame, then plucked the Sceptre from the table, smirking. "And as for this," Klaus tossed in into one of corner of the room, black and shadowed, casting the magnificent wand into darkness. "I see no reason to share my discovery." A clap of his hands, and the floor around Nefertiti's prized possession erupted with a million black insects, so small and deadly and powerful that they were in no way natural at all. They swarmed the staff with vicious intent, then scattered, leaving no remains.

A guttural laugh his only response to the loss of such a precious thing, Klaus leaned back in his chair, content. "Now all I need is a word from my little spy." He mused, a cruel smile tugging at the corners of his thin, white lips. Reaching over, he grasped the phone in his gnarled fingers, flipped up the lid...and snarled. No messages. Slamming the phone shut, he settled back to wait, planning the destruction of the Huntik Foundation with malicious glee, ignoring some strange sensation in the dark and evil depths of his mind that warned him a storm was coming...

* * *

><p>That storm was blowing inwards in a non-descript jet, flying low beneath the clouds, fleeting like a bird. Watching as Loki pestered Dante and Will both about the mechanics and technicalities of flying a plane, Zhalia slid right to the back, reaching into her boot as she sat down, pulling out her phone. After glancing anxiously in the direction of her teammates, she tried desperately to call or even text her grandfather, knowing his displeasure would be great indeed if she didn't tell him what was coming for him now.<p>

As yet another negative beep came from the device, she muttered darkly under her breath, more scared then angry, and thumped it hard on the arm of her seat. "Work, you stupid thing! What's wrong with you?" The light at the top suddenly turning from red to green, she nearly cheered, keeping silent at the last moment and chastising herself for the near slip. Leaning back as it connected, she angled her body to hide the phone in her hands, turning away from the trio up front. Just as she was about to call Klaus, a voice startled her.

"Hey, Zhalia, are you alright?" It was Loki, walking confidently down the aisle, for all the turbulence, her eyes filled with worry and concern. "You look really stressed. Are you air sick?" She plonked herself down on the seat opposite, eyes scanning her, their bright spark curious, the mind behind them clever and quick.

Zhalia was quick to dissuade her. "No, no. Its nothing! I was just..." She trailed off, trying to come up with an excuse, any excuse, but Loki beat her to it.

"You weren't," She murmured slowly, incredulous and shocked, her eyes landing on the mobile on the mocha-orbed woman's knee. "Just playing cell phone games on a _mission_, were you?" The blonde's eyes were wounded, surprised she could even consider such a thing. The woman across from her took the way out with relief and thanks, a bitter, cynical part of her scoffing at the teen. She was trying to do much worse than cell phone games, after all.

"You got me." She shrugged helplessly, smiling uneasily, and Loki shook her head, laughing softly.

Back up front, Will half-turned to face his mentor. "Hey, Dante, how about letting me land? I've got my license, you know."

Before he could answer, Cherit craned over the boy's shoulder, puzzled. "I don't mean to alarm you two, but I don't spy an airstrip anywhere."

Dante grinned. "That's because we're not landing on one."

Loki appeared behind them, almost making Will jump, Zhalia not far behind. Her sarcastic tones drifted forwards from the back of the group. "Landing already? We're nowhere near Vienna!"

Azure eyes gazed at Dante in confusion. "We're not?"

"Nope." The auburn leaned forwards to press a button, which lit up in response. "That's the idea. We're going to keep a low profile." The plane began to rapidly descend, clearing the cloud layer in seconds, heading towards a large clearing some distance from the city.

"Uh oh." Loki quipped. "Looks like we've got company."

A pair of helicopters, each surrounded by a team of blue-suited, parachute-bearing, helmet-wearing men, took up the space in the grove. At their appearance, the little ant-like figures began to scurry around, the blades of the copters turning, slowly at first, and then with more speed as the men disappeared into the helicopters one by one.

Zhalia shook her head. "Low profile, huh?" She smirked, then gasped as she realised that the men where there because of the tracker on her phone. Turning the device on must have triggered it to activate... She looked away, not sure if she was pleased with or ashamed of herself.

Dante growled softly, flicking a few switches and bringing the plane back up again. "Klaus must have set up choppers all over the area!" He began to turn the jet about, when Loki smiled delightedly, eyes lit up as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Hold it! Hold on!"

Her teammates turned to her, and Dante felt a wicked grin on his lips, mirroring the one on the face of his student. "Why do I get the feeling you've got a plan, Loki?"

She leaned forwards, gathering the team around her to murmur her plans, as down below them, the copters took flight like a pair of ugly bugs. Nodding, she waved them off to do their part. A moment later, the plane door opened, and Dante, in a parachute, helmet, and sky-diving suit, steadied himself against the frame before preparing to step out onto the wing. Turbulence rocked the jet, and he almost stumbled. Righting himself, he adjusted his headset so he could talk to the pilot, who was currently Will.

"Keep her steady."

"Sorry." The boy quipped back as he struggled against the rising winds, pulling the plane back into a smooth glide. "This maneuver isn't exactly in the books!" Dante turned from the door to give the boy a brief thumbs up, before facing Zhalia, who was also dressed for her outer-plane experience.

"Let's get out onto the wing." She nodded, and the pair stepped outside, Loki remaining at the door, watching with excitement as her idea became reality. The two elder Seekers made slow progress against the wind, and Zhalia fell to her knees, battered by the gales. The russet man beside her knelt to help her to her feet again, concern shining in his golden eyes, but she pushed him away, as fiercely independent as always.

A shout from behind them startled them both. "Guys! Look out!" It was Loki, clinging to the doorframe to keep herself from being pulled out of the plane, long hair being tossed back and forth in the violent currents, her cry almost soundless as the words were whipped away by the grasping wind. Her eyes were fixed on a point beyond them, wide and worried, almost the same blue as the bright sky above them.

A chopper had drawn level with the coasting plane, turned side on with the guns facing the team as they stared into the cold eyes of their enemies. Dante leapt up from Zhalia's side, darting along the wing, a spell on his lips as he reached the tip. "Hyperstride!" He flew through the air as if he had wings, before shouting out again, a spell that no one but he heard. "Spidertouch!" Strands of sticky web sprang from his fingertips to latch onto the tail end of the enemy helicopter, keeping Dante safely in place. The Seeker grinned, hearing the suit's cries from within as the copter began to spin.

"Shake him off, shake him off!"

"I'm trying!"

It span down below the sight of the plane again, Dante winking at Loki as they flew past, before the second chopper took the place of its companion. It faced the open door, missiles aimed for the pair in plain view. "Their gonna fire on us!" The blonde yelled over the wings, biting her lip as she tried to come up with a solution. She hadn't planned for this, thinking her status as a valuable piece of property would stop the suits from blowing the jet up. She'd been wrong.

"Cherit!" She cried suddenly. "Do you think my Boltflare is hot enough to take them out?" The little titan paused for a second, flustered, before looking down at the girl.

"I could try using my energy charge on you to give you a boost!" He croaked. Loki stared at him, eyes narrowed against the wind and in thought.

"The one you use to charge up titans?!" She screeched after a moment. "Is that even safe for Seekers?!"

"Certainly!" The creature replied, taking a deep breath, before letting it out softly over the blonde. A sunset-red energy drifted gently over her, sinking into her skin, sparkling under the surface like molten lava.

Hearing the sound of a missile being release, Loki turned to face the copter. Her skin was white-silver and pale as the moon, her hair the pale gold of a winter sun, both gleaming with the brightness of the power trapped beneath her skin. Her eyes, once azure blue, were the red of deepest flame, churning with energy and flame. "Boltflare!" Her voice rang with a double echo, one young, serious, the voice of a human, the voice of Loki. The other voice was filled with age and magic, powerful and other. The spell blasted from her outstretched hands, twisting and turning upon itself, a great ball of fire as vibrant as the sun. It collided with the missile with a coloassal 'bang', and fire erupted outwards from their meeting, throwing Loki back from the door to slam into the wall opposite. Cherit flew to her, worried, but she sat up quickly, shaking her head, her colouring now normal once more.

"I am not doing that again in a hurry." She muttered, looking up at the titan above her head balefully. "That amount of power... It is not for a human to wield. It hurt, to hold it in."

Cherit winced, apologetic. "I didn't know it would be like that. Its been a long time since I used that power on a human." The girl below him smiled, standing and running back to the door.

"Its alright. Just remind me not to do it next time you ask!"

Back outside, Dante had gotten tired of waiting around, lifting one hand of the Spidertouch spell, and reaching inside his jumpsuit. He pulled out a familiar purple amulet, grinning wickedly under his visor. "Attack! Metagolem!" The stone giant appeared out of nowhere, dropping down from above the helicopter to land on the windscreen. His heavy weight caused it to plummet to the ground and Dante, seeing his work there was done, pushed off with another Hyperstride, opening his parachute and drifting safely down to earth.

Zhalia, out on the wing, narrowed her eyes at the remaining chopper, before sprinting down the length of the wing and springing off the edge, a Hyperstride lending her strength. As she reached the height of the jump, she held her amulet aloft, knowing she was now close enough to her target to use it. "King Basilisk!" The winged snake flew through the air, his Seeker holding tight onto his tail, before attacking the copter with all his might, flicking his tail to send his mistress flying off to a safe distance to open her parachute and float away.

Loki turned to her flying companion as the her friends glided to ground, grinning. "That was just about the best thing ever!" She chirped, and Cherit rolled his eyes before they were both thrown back into the plane as Will turned to follow their teammates to the earth.

* * *

><p>Once reunited, the team hiked through the forest to reach the city proper, pausing on the outskirts to make a plan. Dante, hidden with the others in a deserted alleyway, pulled out his Holotome after glancing around to make sure they weren't seen. Finding Klaus's base took but a moment, but the auburn warned them to be cautious, and wait till nightfall. Uneasy with waiting, but trusting of his decision, they agreed, and settled down to prepare for the night ahead.<p>

* * *

><p>Darkness came quickly in the shadowed city, the horizon eagerly, greedily swallowing the sun till the next dawn. The team moved silently through the streets, reaching the dark door that held the path to hell. Dante knelt, inserting a lockpick into the keyhole. No one was truly surprised when it glowed a blood-black-red, and turned into a puddle at their feet. They all stepped back, thinking, before the pool of molten metal gave Loki a burst of inspiration. Crouching before the door, she murmured a spell softly, cupping it in her palm before taking the handle. "Boltflare!" In her firey grip, the handle liquefied, falling off in her hand, the same happening the other side, from the tinkle of metal on wood that rang quietly through the abandoned lane. A gentle push, and the door swung soundlessly open.<p>

Dante rested his hand on his student's shoulder. "Nicely done." He turned to the others. "We'll fan out across the store. There has to be an entrance to the main facility." He padded inside as Loki looked at her melted handiwork.

Alone, the russet-haired man took a few cautious steps, then paused and listened before taking another. He felt something give under his foot, heard the soft hiss of arrows, and knelt quickly, bringing an arm over his head. "Overshield!" The specialised defense spell made a semi-sphere above him, and the arrows broke against it like waves against the shore.

"Is this the right place?" Dante almost laughed as he heard Loki's nervous question from the door. "Its just, I don't want some poor innocent waking up to no door handle." Will, walking inside, stopped and pointed at the remains of the arrows littering the floor.

"Its the right place, alright."

Loki sighed. "I guess so. This seems like his kinda place."

Zhalia crept in behind them, looking around her childhood home anxiously. This place held bad memories for her, and very few good...

Loki gazed around the bookshop, eyes dark with fear. "I' willing to bet his mum didn't tuck him in at night." Will snorted.

"She was probably too scared to go near him."

Dante called softly after them as they wandered into another part of the store. "Be careful! There may be more traps."

Zhalia watched with fear as the team padded around her once-home, trying to find a moment alone to call Klaus, but with everyone on such high alert, finding a moment was exceedingly difficult. She snuck around a corner, hiding amongst the books as she fished the phone out her pocket.

"What kind of bookstore has sections for stuff like the History of Torture Chambers?!" She heard Will mutter on the other side, and moved away. A sudden hand on her shoulder almost made her scream, till she heard the honey-golden voice that went with it.

"You shouldn't let your guard down in a place like this." Dante warned. "You could get hurt and nobody would know." He looked down at her from under the shadows of his fringe, and she rested her hands on her hips, chin defiantly tilted upwards to meet his gaze. She tried to ignore the concern and worry in his eyes, and nearly failed to keep her voice sharp and indignant, nearly gave in to the unspoken question that he was asking, and told him everything. Part of her wanted so badly to ward him away from this place of horrors, put the cold, strong part of Zhalia that was born all those years ago when her parents died and her nightmare began kept her back straight and proud.

"I was just making sure the ringer was off." She tossed her hair of her shoulder with a shake of her head, the very image of resent.

"Stay alert." His voice was low pitched, urgent despite its neutral tone. "This Klaus is no push over, and I'll need you to be ready." She shrugged.

"I'll be ready."

He watched her closely for a moment, before turning and walking back around the corner to the teens, his coat snapping around around him as his anger so clearly wished to do. Zhalia sighed, relieved, leaning back against the bookcase behind her with a hand pressed to her heart. "I'll be ready," She muttered to herself. "But ready to do what?"

* * *

><p>A few rows away, Loki and Cherit were pacing along the corridors together, eyes sharp, and ever curious. "Oh, you have got to be kidding." The blonde muttered after a moment. "A children's section? Maybe this place isn't a total house of horrors after all." Cherit flew to the shelves, read the titles to himself before shaking his head.<p>

"I don't know if I'd read these to children..." He turned to Loki as she reached for a few of the books on the table before her.

"'Real Monsters Under the Bed'?" She put it down, looking at another, her voice rising in her disbelief. "'_The Thing that Ate Grandpa_'?!" She shook her head, putting the books back. "Okay, I take it back." She murmured shakily. "Total house of horrors. Total, complete and utter house of horrors."

Cherit smiled sympathetically before facing the shelf again. A book, soft pink in colour, caught his eye, and he cheered softly. "Hanzel and Gretel!" He smiled, reaching for it- and a hand blocked his hand, trapping the spine in its place.

"Don't do it, Cherit!" The blonde had stepped up to him. "Something that out of place _has _to be a trap." The titan muttered agreement, quickly flying back from the book as if it would attack him personally.

Will and Dante walked over to where the teen was stood, arms folded and expression guarded as she glared at the seemingly sweet book. "Quick thinking, Loki." The Casterwill crowed quietly, grinning. He turned to face the books, and gasped sharply. "Did you see?" He pointed. "There's more than one copy!"

Dante nodded slowly, his voice deep with thought. "Three...In fairytales, everything happens in threes. Three little piggies, three blind mice."

The blonde beside him smiled slyly. "Goldilocks, and the Three Bears. Three bowls, three beds, three chairs! I never noticed that. And three wishes..." She trailed off as Cherit looped through the air, smiling too.

"What are we waiting for?"

Loki pondered the question for a moment. "The first two wishes never turn out so well, but the third...The third is always the wish to set things right again." No one noticed Zhalia appear at the door behind them, her eyes fixed, horrified, on the section before her. She would always remember this place...

Loki sighed, shaking her head. "But I have a feeling that even if it is the right book, it'll open up a can of worms. Klaus doesn't seem the type to make things easy." Narrowing his eyes, Will darted forwards and pulled out the copy of the book third along from the end of the shelf. Everyone jumped back, save Loki, who remained resolutely in place, staring into the dark hole now opened in the wall with apprehension and curiosity.

"Loki! Watch yourself!" Dante went as if to reach for her, then stayed back, wary of the door now open to them.

The blonde stepped into the doorway, looking around, then shrugged and turned back. "So much for the can of worms." She tilted her head to one side. "Now what?"

Behind her back, the wall began to shift and writhe, a low droning pierce with high squeaks growing louder by the second.

Will's eyes grew large, his face pale. "Forget worms, those are spiders! Loki, move!" He yelled, retreating back as she darted to hide behind Dante, shivering with fear and repulsion. The swarm billowed towards the opening, surged back as if afraid of the light, then burst forth in a tide of black bodies and hairy legs. Zhalia rocked forwards as if to help, then moved back again. She could do nothing to help them now. The last time she had seen these creatures, they had been mere prototypes, little machine models of what Klaus had wanted to build, their natures just words on pieces of paper. Now they were miniature assassins, deadly and tiny, inconspicuous and hidden to the eyes of those who did not look for them.

Dante, stepping away from the oncoming horde, grabbed the teens and pushed them down to his feet, keeping them close as he conjured a quick spell to guard them. "Overshield!" Loki cringed against him as the creatures began to scuttled over the luminous, blue wall, their thick legs and pulsating abdomens making her feel sick, a dark feeling that weighed down the pit of her stomach like a stone.

"I hate spiders." She muttered fiercely, pale and wan. "Hate, hate, hate, _hate _spiders." Dante placed a gentle hand on her head, and she looked up at him with wide, azure eyes as Cherit settled on her shoulders. Will cursed beside her, shaking his head and tapping the machine that appeared in his hands in a flash of lightening.

"These aren't normal spiders!" He pulled a face at the Cipherdex, then sent it away again. "There's no record of any titans like them!"

Their mentor and protector growled. "Its probably one of Klaus's experiments!" A sharp retort, and Loki shrieked as the Oversheild began to crack, legs reaching through the gap to try and claw their way inside. Cherit flew at them to push them back, but soon the flow would be too strong for the spell to keep back. "Loki!" Dante ordered, voice authoritive. "I need you to burn me a small hole."

"What?!" She yelped. "They're already breaking through. Why do you want another hole?!" Seeing the stern look in his eyes, she reached one hand up, and looked away. "Gotcha... Raypulse!" A small, but strong and concentrated beam of fire-light shot upwards from her palm, melting a fist-sized circle in the apex of the sphere above their heads.

Dante, glowing purple with the light of a summoning, stuck his hand through the gap, clasping an amulet. "Incinerate, Ignatius!" The robust lava-man flowed from the pendant in a sluggish river of magma, the air around him shimmering with waves of heat. He danced around on light feet, a trail of fire in his wake that grew to engulf the swarm of not-spiders. Seeing the flames reach eagerly for the team, fire not knowing friend from foe, Will cast another spell to save them from a painful end.

"Chillskin!"

As the air cleared and the ashes settled, all that remained was the charred, twitch corpses of the experiments. Loki sighed, standing shakily, before hissing bitterly. "Take that, stupid spiders." She shuddered once, then turned away. 'Why spiders?' A part of her cried. 'Why couldn't he have made beetles?' It complained. 'We can deal with beetles.'

Dante waved her over, and she gladly left the shells of her fearful enemies. "There," He grinned, trying to cheer her up. "Is our secret entrance!"

In the space where the spiders had been, there lay an old-fashioned elevator, with only one setting.

Down, deep down below, into the depths of despair, into hell, and into the nightmares of the past and future.

* * *

><p>AN: Yup, Loki doesn't like the spiders, and neither do I. I totally sympathise. I would have run screaming for the hills...<p> 


	55. Chapter 54 The Bookshop Hunter Part 2

AN: Let the sneaking begin! I love this chapter, though I kinda miss the Redcaps. Klaus's suits only ever use Bonelashers and Enforcers.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 54- The Bookshop Hunter Part 2

The group stared at the cage that hung before them, none really liking the idea of being in such an enclosed space when they were in enemy territory. Finally, breaking the tense silence with a sigh, Loki tilted her chin up stubbornly, and stepped in. The team waited with bated breath for it to fall or collapse, but it stayed safe, showing no signs of traps. Dante gave a grim smile, then ushered everyone else in before shutting the doors.

"Going down." He muttered, as if they had a choice, before pulling down on the sole lever, and pressing one of the level buttons. Lights began to zip past the window, flashing harshly against the soft almost-dark of the lift. Folding his arms, he turned to his teammates, eyes amber-dark, the colour of danger, and of warnings.

"We'll split into teams. Will, Zhalia," He gestured to each one. "You take B1. Loki, Cherit and I will take B2."

Will's eyes flashed with anger, and he leant against the wall with his arms cross, a mulish frown on his face. "Great," He smiled bitterly. "Dealing with Klaus won't seem so bad after hanging out with her all day." Loki waited for the inevitable comeback, but it never came, Zhalia remaining silent as she stared out at the passing lights, almost unaware that the others were there at all.

* * *

><p>The elevator jolted as it reached the first basement level, the doors jerking open with a rickety clatter. Will nodded towards the door, his eyes on Zhalia, and she padded out first, the feeling of eyes on her back never wavering. The pair looked around the room, a large circular library, each falling silent, knowing a word at the wrong time in this place could cost them their lives.<p>

The Casterwill allowed Zhalia to move around the room, then followed silently, watching her from the shadows as a cat watches a mouse. Irritated, and scared the already suspicious boy would figure out her secret, the blue-haired Seeker turned to face him, glaring fiercely.

"Dante and Loki aren't here to impress, so you can stop chasing my shadow now." She turned away, satisfied, but Will didn't move away. She looked over at him, and he smirked.

"I'm not trying to impress anyone." He grinned, but the smile wasn't nice, wasn't _safe_. It was a dangerous smile, and one that promised Zhalia that he wasn't going to be fobbed off with a few half-hearted sarcastic comments. "I'm just keeping an eye on you." Emerald eyes darkened, the smile fading away as he grew serious again. "I, for one, haven't forgotten all your suspicious behaviour as of late."

Zhalia sighed, feinting ignorance. "Dante doesn't seem to have any problem with me." Her opponent shrugged.

"Perhaps your only getting by with your feminine wiles." He rolled his eyes as if to ask how anyone could be taken in by such a thing. The coffee-eyed woman opposite him felt her hands twitch, but swiftly resisted the urge to slap Will. She was in a bad enough position as it was. Fighting with this little brat wouldn't help.

"Oh, come now, Will." She purred, going back to her 'search' of the bookshelf in front of her, wishing there was any other way to keep the boy from finding out her secret. Despite appearances, she really did like Will. He reminded her of herself, in a way, when she was younger. He was like a little brother- headstrong, arrogant, always sure of himself even when he was wrong, but also kind to his friends, protective of his loved ones, and loyal to a fault. "Do you really believe that the world is really interested in one poor lonely little Casterwill anymore? We can all manage fine without you. You're not really..._necessary_ any more. Besides, you're just a _child_. How are you _ever _meant to carry on the legacy?"

She saw him stiffen out of the corner of her eyes, knew she had hit his weakest point. Will didn't truly believe himself that he was worthy to hold the name of Casterwill, and she had just said all his doubts outloud. She knew from experience that once something was said for all to hear, it settled into your heart as a sickening certainty, a doubt no longer. He snarled, eyes dark with rage, venom clear in his clenched teeth and fists.

"I'm no child," His eyes narrowed furiously. "And even though you try to play it cool around him, I know you hang on Dante's every word." Trying desperately to hide the pain that shot through her chest like a bullet, Zhalia turned away, her thoughts flickering briefly, unbidden, to her newest set of orders.

* * *

><p><em>The hoarse voice echoed down the phone line, crackling with static, and powerful with age. "Don't let Dante Vale complete another mission."<em>

* * *

><p>She flicked her hair back over one shoulder, half-facing the boy behind her, eyes dark and cold. "Very mature." She snapped. "Spare me the attitude. Come on, we have work to do." She began to walk away, nearly stumbling as the Casterwill's voice rang out behind her.<p>

"But just whose work _are _you doing, Zhalia?"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, down below them, Dante, Loki and Cherit were exploring the second lower level, the blonde sticking close to her older friend, something about Klaus's house setting her teeth on edge. Passing by an open door, she stuck her head in quickly before hurrying after the others. "Living quarters?" She muttered, shaking her head. "I wouldn't want to live here."<p>

Dante glanced down at her, and shrugged, pausing as they reached pair of doors, both locked with state of the art key-pad based locks. Giving his student a wiry smile, the auburn stepped back with a flourished bow to allow her accsess. A winning smile on a face, the azure-orbed teen darted forwards, staring at the doors for a moment before crouching down and raising her hand to the first of the two key-pads. "Farslip." The green power grew slowly in her palm, guided by her control, then moved forwards sluggishly, covering the keys but not pressing upon them. Feeling curious amber eyes on her back, Loki turned to face him.

"The Farslip can feel the slight ridges where somebody's fingerprints are. It'll tell me what the code is!" She beamed at him, then stood with a stretch, reaching out with one hand to tap in a few numbers and letters. The door slid open with an almost inaudible 'hiss'. "There!"

Dante grinned at her, moving past her to look at the now open room. "Loki." His voice came harshly from inside as she smiled up at Cherit. "Don't come in. Stay there." She frowned, glancing over, her smile disappeared.

"What is it?" She called, padding closer.

His voice came again, insistent this time. "Stay there!" Her eyes narrowed, her chin stubborn and mutinous. Despite his warnings, she peered around the doorway, curiosity winning out over caution.

The room was simple, bare even, not even a bed within. Instead, the wall had two glittering adornments. Shackles, each above head level, made for wrists to bind the prisoner in the most uncomfortable position possible. Loki shrugged, wondering what was so special about them that caused Dante to keep her away, and walked inside. The russet-haired man turned at the sound of her footsteps, and in doing so, revealed what he was hiding. A name plate.

_Subject Number 3679_

_Loki Lambert_

The blonde stumbled back, ashen, before fleeing from the room, Cherit wrapping himself around her neck to calm her. Though she had always know Klaus was interested in her capture, seeing the products of that obsession were harrowing. The thought of being trapped in that room, that prison, of languishing in that cell, knowing no daylight, no sun, only darkness... It chilled her to the bone, and made her soul shake and quiver with fear.

"Loki?"

Dante was stood behind her, filling the doorway and blocking out the sight of that nightmare room. Loki turned and ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist and burrowing her head into his chest, crying silently. He hugged her tightly, then held her at arms length. "Come on now, be brave." He smiled gently. "We won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Loki looked up at him, azure eyes child-like and wide with fear, before a shimmer of sapphire, hard and unbreakable, gleamed in their very depths. Brushing her tears away, the blonde stood tall and strong, ashamed of her moment of weakness. Dante smiled, relieved to see her like herself again. Their eyes met, and the teen grinned wickedly. "They better be prepared for a good fight then. Like I said, I wouldn't want to live here." She span away on one heel, towards the other key-pad, and again used Farslip to read the code. Typing it in, her hand a blur in the semi-darkness of the hall, she stepped back as the door slip open.

Letting Dante go first again, she poked her head in when he gave the all clear. Raising an eyebrow, she looked around the bedroom. The bed was neatly made, larger and more comfortable than the bunkbeds in the other rooms. A TV was over the foot, for easy watching, and an aquarium dominated the closest wall. A desk, bookcase, and computer were on the other side. This room was not locked for security, but for privacy. Cherit flew from the girl's shoulder, eyes wide with disbelief. "Ohhh," He croaked, impressed. "Fancy."

A smile quirked up Loki's lips. "This one's not like the others." She laughed. "I guess some suits do have taste."

Dante shook his head, looking over at her as she tapped the fishtank's glass, peering at the creatures within. "_If _it belongs to a suit." She stilled, turning quickly to look at him, frowning.

"Who else would it be for?" She glanced back over her shoulder to the door across the hall. "We already know where I'd be staying." His only answer was a shrug, and both went back to searching- though Loki's version seemed to be mainly searching the fishtank.

Dante padded round to the other side of the room, eyes scanning the surfaces for any clues as to the room's purpose. There weren't many personal touches, as if the owner didn't want anyone knowing their inner mind and soul. A picture frame, the only one of its kind in the room, caught his eye, and he picked it up.

A young girl, about five or so, beamed out of the photo, carried by a middle-aged man. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, and they were both laughing at some secret joke. Dante recognised the scenery- it was a bridge not far from here- and the man seemed to resemble a younger Klaus, but the girl...

He waved Loki over, and showed her the picture. "This girl looks familiar." He murmured softly, and she nodded briefly. Confused, and more than a little disturbed, they left the room and carried on down the corridor, quiet as shadows, leaving no trace as to their passing save for the movement of the air.

* * *

><p>Upstairs, Will and Zhalia had come to a standstill. The books around the room held no clues as to Klaus's business here, or the Bottle of Djinn- or at least, the ones Zhalia had let the Casterwill find had held no clue. They were now stood before the sole filing cabinet in the room, and were at a checkmate.<p>

"Its obviously rigged." Zhalia tossed her hair over her shoulder, glaring at the brunette. "We're dealing with a pro here."

Will huffed, stepping up to the cupboard. "Let's see what this pro can do." Slowly, he pulled open a draw. As soon as it had been fully opened, a strange worm-like creature, yellow-green in colour, burst out of the papers and spat a glob of gunk at the emerald-eyed teen. He narrowly dodged, and it landed on the floor a few meters away.

It burned straight through, leaving a simmering hole where it had been.

Curious now, rather than frightened as any sane person would be, Will opened another draw, the same happening again. Zhalia raised an eyebrow, and he answered her unspoken question. "So, no matter where I open it, I'll get attacked." He nodded slowly, beleaguered respect in his voice. "This was done by a pro indeed."

Zhalia smirked at him, part of her relieved he couldn't open it, part of her disappointed. "It seems the mighty Lord Casterwill has finally met his match."

"Nonsense!" Will turned away, placing his hands on a new handle. "I just have to move quickly..." He trailed off, pulling open draw after draw, shielding himself from the acid-spitting creature within. Zhalia, bored, wandered off, then realised the perfect opportunity had presented itself, and whipped out her phone. Hitting the speed-dial, she waited anxiously for her grandfather to pick up.

As she stood there, she remembered all her precious memories with him, as if trying to convince herself it was the right thing to do.

* * *

><p><em>Walking through the park near the house, Klaus listening as she told him, tearfully, what had happened to her every time he went away. He picked her up as she stumbled, still weak from her month on the run, and promised her it would never happen again. Ever. And she believed him.<em>

_Sitting alone in her room, too scared to go to sleep, nightmares of the suits and their needles still lingering in the corners of her mind. The door, cracking open, her shying away from the light. His voice, calm and comforting, him holding her close, and reading her a book in his endearing, strange accent till she drifted off to sleep._

* * *

><p>The phone clicked, the person on the other side silent and waiting. "We've got company."<p>

"Bubblelift!" The shout came from behind her, startling her out of her moment of peace, and she slammed the phone shut before Will could see it, shoving it in a pocket. The Casterwill was now smugly looking at the worm creature, hovering as it was in his blue sphere. A number of draws hung open, papers lying here and there, the floor around dotted with a few holes. "Raypulse!" A fiery beam sprang from his hand to destroy the acid-sprayer, and the boy dusted his hands off, grinning. "There now," He shrugged. "That wasn't so bad." He paused for a moment, looking Zhalia up and down, and for a moment she feared her secret had been discovered, before he just glared at her. "Thanks for the help."

He turned to the cabinet, and she padded to stand beside him. "Didn't want to steal your Highness's royal thunder." To her surprise, he laughed, and her heart was warmed by the sound. Though they did argue some, okay _most _of the time, she was close to the annoying little brat. He was a friend, when he wasn't being too suspicious and nosy for his own good.

They riffled through the files in silence, till Will broke the quiet with a noise of both triumph and confusion. "That's strange." He opened the file in his hand, head tilted to one side as he read it, puzzled. "The Bottle is filed under non-magical items. It once had a titan, but its long gone."

Zhalia shook her head, just as confused as Will. "If there's no titan, why does Dante even want it?"

The boy shrugged, reaching into his pocket. "We can worry about that later." Lifting an amulet into the air, he glowed a vibrant blue. "Fly, Icarus!" The winged man appeared in a flash a lightening, hovering before his master, waiting for orders. The file was passed into his feathery hands. "Find Dante, but stay out of sight!" The titan nodded, and was gone.

* * *

><p>The man he was looking for, and the pair with him, were stood in the doorway to a large, white chamber. Vials and pipes lined the walls, the surfaces covered with notes and test tubes, needles and half-finished experiments. The results of those experiments were settled in the corners of the massive room, suspended in containers of yellow jelly. All was lit with a blue-white light that gave the scene a dream-like feel, though Loki thought it more a nightmare, the worst part being that it was all too real.<p>

"This guy is getting creepier by the minute." She muttered weakly, mind drifting back to the containment cell in the corridors they had left behind. They split up, Dante searching the shelves, whilst Loki and Cherit read over the papers on the desks. Cherit nodded to his young friend as she peered at what looked like a green brain floating in a suspension chamber on the table.

"Klaus is a strange fellow, but I had no idea _how _strange." He reeled back as the brain twitched, he and Loki both retreating to the safer, and less disgusting looking pieces of parchment on the other side of the desk. "Trapped in a container..." He shivered. "That's the way the Organization works. They like things under lock and key."

Suddenly, he smiled. "Hey, Dante." The russet-haired man looked over from the vial in his hand. "I believe this scroll is something you could use!"

Padding over, Dante read over Loki's shoulder, taking a minute to decipher the swirling, old-fashioned script. "Stopglue?" He grinned. "I think this power would be quite useful. Good work, Cherit." The titan grinned toothily, shrugging his wings modestly.

"Never a trouble."

Smiling, and leaving Dante and Cherit to pour over the scroll, Loki wandered over to the other side of the laboratory, staring at the grotesque, deformed shapes that slithered and squirmed within the holding cylinders. Her thoughts turned, unwillingly, to what it would be like to be the test subject inside, able to see the world, but never touch it, never escape even though it was just at the end of your fingertips. She shuddered, chasing away those dark images, focusing on the task at hand.

* * *

><p>Above their heads, a pair of suits gaped at the computer screen as it flashed and beeped. "The pressure sensor for the lab's lit up!" One cried, stumbling to its feet.<p>

The other ran for the door, his partner following quickly. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p>A door slid open with a loud, angry '<em>beep'<em>, startling the Huntik Trio within the lab as the suits charged in. Loki gave a quiet meep, backing away from the cylinder she'd been peering into, and trying to surreptitiously make her way over to Dante.

"Huntik Foundation!" One snarled, his eyes on the russet-haired man, before his eyes slid greedily to the blonde. "Subject _3679_! Get them, Enforcer!"

"Tear him to pieces, Bonelasher!" The other yelled, hiding behind the giant green monster.

Dante merely smiled, raising his hands. "I think you boys need to bond a bit." The palms of his outstretched hands glowed blue-white. "Stopglue!" Loki watched in amazement as the spell took affect. Strands of gloopy, white stickiness engulfed the titans, holding them in place and pining them down. The more they struggled, the tighter it seemed to become, and the blonde was briefly reminded of Gleipnir, all those months ago. "That glue can't be pulled apart with brute force." The golden-eyed Seeker told her, eyes gleaming with laughter from across the room.

A noise at his back caught his attention, and he turned to find the dark-skinned suit charging a spell in his hands. Running at him, Dante grinned mercilessly as he startled the man into losing the power. As the suit stepped back to run, the auburn skidded in a modified football tackle, sweeping the feet of his opponent out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor, hitting his head and falling unconscious.

Whilst Dante and the other suit had battled, however brief the battle may have been, the other suit had gone after Loki. Seeing the determined glint in her cold cobalt eyes, he raised his hands. "Shadowspeed!" Glowing the deep purple of an almost-night sky, the suit raced towards her inhumanly fast, his fists blurs against the white background of the lab.

Loki tried desperately to fend off his blows, ducking and diving, but his speed was so fast that he seemed to surround her with tens of suits, leaving no avenue for escape. The inevitable punch that she could not block knocked her to the floor, and before she could leap to her feet again, his arms lifted her, trapping her within a circle of flesh.

She strove to break his grip, but for all his wiry appearance, the suit was strong. The blonde's eyes narrowed, and she allowed herself a grim smile.

"Let! Go! Of! ME!" Each word was accompanied with a kick to an area that a delicate flower such as Loki shouldn't know about. The suit turned white, but resolutely held on. Dante turned in time to see her raise her foot a final time. "NOW!"

The suit crumpled, and Loki wriggled out of his grip as he slumped to the floor. She eyed him for a moment, thinking, then shrugged and turned away. He wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

Cherit flew towards them from a doorway he had gone to investigate. He looked at the puddle of once-man at Loki's feet with alarm as Dante padded over. "What's this?" He cried, flapping around anxiously. "Did I miss something?"

Loki giggled innocently, even as the suit at her feet groaned. "No, not really." Dante rolled his eyes, but secretly was glad to see the fighting spirit shine in her eyes.

* * *

><p>The level below them, Klaus was sitting in his sanctum sanctorum, playing back in his mind the message he had just received from Zhalia. "He's really after the Bottle of Djinn?" The old man shook his head, leaning back in his chair.<p>

Klaus's final level, the deepest level of Hell, reflected himself. The massive room was darkly lit, and cold, the walls made of the bedrock under his house. In the centre of the room, a circular bank of computers monitored the various experiments and tests being currently performed, the chair in the centre on a rail that allowed it to move about to each desk freely. The computers were in their own little grove, the forest that surrounded them on both sides made of circular columns, each covered with tiny doors that hide the fantastical artifacts within. It was Klaus's greatest collection, the containers almost endless on both sides of his desk.

It was to the left hand side of the collection- the non-magical items- that Klaus went now. A hand-scanner appeared out of the floor at his approach, and he placed his hand upon it. A screen appeared, with two holes. One was already filled with a fake eyeball, and Klaus reached into his pocket to pull out its pair, slotting it into its place. The floor moved like a tile puzzle, allowing the correct repository to move to stand before him.

"How curious." He murmured to himself. "According to my lovely agent's message, the Foundation is after," He opened the compartment he wanted, revealing a light blue bottle that shone and shimmered in the bright light, casting dots of sparkling blue onto the dull, golden object lurking at the back. "This. The Bottle of Djinn." He tucked it into his jacket, frowning. "My research tells me that the Bottle no longer contains and magical properties, but no matter. If its important to Dante Vale, then I'll make sure he _never _gets it."

* * *

><p>At the other end of the chamber, the two suits guarding the staircase leading down into the room were fidgeting, bored. The most unlucky of suits pulled guard duty here- the lack of action, and the amount of time they would have to spend with Klaus made it the worst job on the schedule.<p>

Suddenly, something struck one suit, a pale man with long, blond hair, in the back of the head. Thinking it a prank by his dejected partner, he turned furious towards him, only to be met with the same reaction as a second object went flying through the air and hit _him _on the head.

Klaus twitched, stalking towards them as the suits began to squabble, forgetting to close the container behind him. "What's going on?!"

The suits were about to blame each other, when a shrill cheer came from the stairwell. Peering up at the figure, one suit spoke up. "It looks like some kind of little titan up there!"

Klaus sighed, exasperated. "Don't just stand there," He barked. "Go after it!"

The suits raced after the flying creature as it turned to wave at them. Cherit, for it was he, zipped away as they swore and ran up the stairs. Meeting Loki at the top of the steps, he gave her a breathless thumbs up, and she ran around the doorframe to push at the giant containment cylinder she'd pulled there to entrap the suits. Placing it before the arch that led to the stairs, she knew it would be invisible to the suits coming up them, until it was too late.

True to her plan, the suits ran straight into the jelly, trapping themselves without Loki even breaking a sweat. She laughed at the suits, who were blinking with bewilderment and trying desperately to move. "I gotta hand it to your boss," She giggled, as Dante looked over in surprise, Icarus at his side having finally found them. "He leaves all kinda useful junk lying around."

Her mentor padded over as Icarus flew to get Will and Zhalia. "So this is what you were up to." He muttered, chuckling under his breath. The blonde beamed at him, before jerking her head at the container.

"Help me move it, and we've got a clear run straight to the Bottle!"

* * *

><p>Back in the collection room, Klaus could hear their voices echo down the stairs, and cursed. His suits had failed him. Reaching into a pocket, he drew out a round amulet that looked like it was made of rock, with two pads of gold wrapping around the top edge, a purple gem gleaming darkly in the centre. "The Huntik Foundation will never find me." He snarled.<p>

A voice behind him made the old man jump, and he span to meet golden eyes, the eyes of the lion that had been hunting him for so long. "Sorry, what was that?"

The pair faced each other, the angel and the devil, righteousness and evil, their wills and strength making the air crackle with tension. The ultimate battle for Zhalia's heart and fate was about to begin.

* * *

><p>AN: GO TEAM DANTE! Beat that stupid creep!<p> 


	56. Chapter 55 The Bookshop Hunter Part 3

AN: The dramatic conculsion to the chapter! At least, I hope its dramatic. It is mostly a fight scene...

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 55- The Bookshop Hunter Part 3

"Dante Vale!" Red-brown eyes, the colour of the devil, the colour of blood, flashed with hate and malice. Klaus snarled, looking up into the shadowed, unreadable eyes of the man stood atop the desk before him. "I don't know why you want the Bottle of Djinn, but I won't let you have it!" He lifted the amulet clasped in his crooked fingers, a sinister smile on his face. "Engage, Brahe!"

A dark figure melded out of the floor, giving off sparks of light and fire. A fat, round giant, equal in size to Metagolem, Brahe was covered in ancient runes, most carved into its very flesh. Upon his shoulders sat two curved pads of gold and scarlet cloth, another strip around his large waist to form a loincloth. His face was flat, the jaws like those of a hippo, though he had no teeth. Bellowing with rage, the purple flames of his summoning flickered around his head like a helmet of flame, then disappeared. Stomping slowing across the floor, Brahe clenched and unclenched his fists, a stupid smile on his stone face as he saw the size of his human opponent.

Dante quickly pulled out an amulet to combat the dumb brute. "Come, Metagolem!" The titan burst from the ground with the sound of a thousand avalanches, rumbling and quaking the ground. Charging each other, the colossi met with a might crash, each struggling for dominance over their well-matched rival.

Klaus, seeing this, gave a smug smile, raising a hand towards the pair. "As to be expected," He muttered. "Brahe, Strike Form!" A ball of fiery red energy flew from his hand to the stone titans, settling on the fatter one's skin and sinking in, turning his runes and carvings from dull to bright crimson life.

Grunting happily with the increase in power, Brahe shoved Metagolem, the titan flying through the air to slam into the far wall. He sat there, dazed for a moment, before rolling to one side, leaving his opponent to slam head first into the wall. As the goliath lay there, stunned, Dante darted over, keeping Metagolem close for protection, before pointing at Brahe as if with divine judgment. "Stopglue!" The white power shot from his hands to bind the titan in place, and though he tried with all his might, not even the power of Strike Form could break sticky strands.

Allowing himself a brief smile, Dante turned to the waiting Klaus, eyes dark and dangerous. "Strike mode, huh? Nice trick." He smirked. "But once the power boost runs out, he's down for the count."

The older Seeker nodded once, conceding. "You are as skilled as they say." He grinned, lifting a hand, a familiar amulet held within. "Ammit Heart-Eater!" The demon crocodile appeared in a flash of brilliant gold, longer than Dante was tall, its gold-plated tail glinting in the soft light of the chamber.

Glaring at the titan, Dante charged, leaping up and over its head. As it turned to follow, Metagolem marched up from behind, grabbing it's neck and pulling it back onto its hindlegs. Grinning impishly, the russet-haired man stopped before the elder scientist.

"Let's see how you like it up close and personal!" He raised his fists, confused as Klaus just stood there, before lashing out a foot. As his attack neared, a net of shimmering gold, round globes moving along its many twists and turns, flared into life about Klaus. Crying out as his foot connected with the trap, Dante fell back into a crouch a few meters away, rubbing his injured shin to try and dull the pain.

"I call it Lastedge." Klaus laughed at the pain and suffering of his opponent. "Its a wonderful little wire that spins around me. Very effective, no?"

"Yes." Dante gasped, his face pale. "You made that from a Peruvian Spinning Door trap." She shook his head as his vision split and blurred, going dark around the edges, determined not to faint.

"The poison was my own addition." Klaus bragged. "You'll feel it soon."

Klaus frowned as Dante glowed, a fiery nimbus surrounding his body. "Everfight!" A moment passed before the auburn staggered to his feet. "W-what's going on?" Dante raised a hand to his head, eyes half closed against the pain, voice weak. "I still can't see..."

The scientist hummed happily. "My magical poison is not so easy to get rid of!" He announced gleefully. Dante glared sightlessly in the direction of Klaus's voice.

"I'll just have to rely on my backup!"

A shadow fell from the roof, one over-sized fist smashing into the Lastedge as Freelancer attacked. The armoured titan jumped back, hand steaming, before shaking his fist to try and lessen the ache. Klaus stared at the titan open-mouthed. "When did you have time to invoke that miserable thing?" Freelancer folded his arms indignantly.

A cry came from above, one that was hoarse and ancient. "He didn't!" Cherit cried, even as Klaus's eyes lit up in amazement at the idea of a talking titan.

"I did!"

Loki, born aloft of the emerald wings of Kipperin, swooped down from the ceiling to smash into the back of Klaus's head, sending him sprawling on the floor, even through the Lastedge. Retreating up again, the blonde absentmindedly rubbed her foot- the shoe having taken the poison for her- before calling down. "Dante! You okay?"

The man slowly shook his head. "For the moment, but I've been blinded." He half-bowed his head, blinking furiously to try and clear his eyes. The teen above him smiled sympathetically, then pulled out a pendant from her belt-pouch.

"Then I've got you covered!" The amulet, its blue gem shining, glowed a vibrant golden brown. "Protect him, Hoplite!" The Greek lion-centaur stood before Dante, blocking Klaus's path to him with body, shield and sword. Smiling his thanks, the lion-eyed man stepped behind him defender, guided by Cherit, before the little titan flew away again to help the blonde.

Klaus climbed to his feet, rubbing the back of his head where Loki had landed a solid kick. "That girl," He snarled, finding her with his eyes. "Got the drop on me?" He glowered at her, and she made a face back, refusing to be cowed. "Seal her fate, Nighlurker!"

It appeared in the shadows with the rustle of cloth. First the mummified head, one glowing red eye visible beneath the bandages, then the shoulders covered in fur-lined pads, then the chest covered in a blue-green collar. The cloak of bandages hid its stomach briefly, then the breeze of its summons move them aside, revealing the gaping mouth, the gleaming teeth, that made up the rest of the titan.

Loki narrowed her eyes at it, and the ruby orb in its face flashed menacingly, once, before it disappeared. The blonde flew back, surprised, before turning to Cherit. "Where'd it go?"

Cherit looked around wildly. "Careful! If Nighlurker disappears in the shadows, he can appear from any shadow around!"

Even as he spoke, the shadow-born titan appeared behind the warring Metagolem and Ammit Heart-Eater. Drifting closer, it latched onto the stone titan's head, and as he reached up to yank Nighlurker off, the crocodile lashed out with its gold-tipped tail, driving it through the rocky stomach, turning Metagolem back into pieces of rumble which tumbled to the floor, the purple light that was his soul disappearing back to Dante.

In the midst of the battle, Klaus scuttled to his trapped titan, Brahe, and raised his hands. "Hexkill!" A stream of blood-red light dissolved the glue binding the giant in place, and he rose slowly, walking past his master to the battle.

Loki, Cherit by her side, landed, Kipperin folding against her back. "I'm outnumbered!" She cried, looking left and right at the enemies surrounding her. Her Hoplite roared, rearing and demanding to help, but she kept it by her blinded friend.

"Aw, she feels so helpless." Klaus cooed, before snarling. "How _fabulous_!"

* * *

><p>Following the instructions of Icarus, who returned to his amulet, worn out by traveling so far away from his Seeker, Zhalia and Will charged down the lower level corridors, the blue-haired woman allowing the Casterwill to go first and guide them using Icarus's memories, pretending she didn't know the way. They reached the door to the lab, breathless and worried, before Will pointed to a stairwell opposite them.<p>

"That way!" He panted. "The others could be fighting Klaus by now!"

They ran across the room, but two suits appeared from the stairs, blocking their way as they skid to a halt. "Sorry," One hissed, his eyes hidden behind the blue lenses of his glasses, an Enforcer as his shoulder. "But this is as far as you go!"

"Ja," The other grinned, calling his Bonelasher forwards. "We'll take care of you."

The Huntik pair backed off, eying the distance between the suits and the stairs, before Zhalia shook her head and turned to Will. "I'll hold them off. You go help the others."

The shutters went down on the boy's emerald eyes. "What's gotten into you?" He snapped. "I thought I wasn't strong enough to help _anyone_."

The blue-haired woman sighed. "I was just lying to myself, and you." She murmured, anxious that time was running out. "They need someone to help them up, not a bitter girl like me to drag them down." Turning, she shot a Raypulse at the approaching suits, knocking them down.

Will took a hesitant step towards the door, confused, and more than a little worried for the older Seeker. "Zhalia-"

"Go!"

Nodding, the boy turned and ran for the stairs. She stared after him for a moment, then shook her head, turning to the suits that were now clambering to their feet, and to their titans. "Hold them, Kilthane!" The black knight appeared in a burst of orange light, as if the sun had risen in the room. He ran after the Casterwill, protecting him from the Enforcer's light and the Bonelasher's claws as he darted for the stairs, and then guarding the way down as he jumped down the steps to the others.

* * *

><p>"Augerfrost!"<p>

Klaus snarled, as Loki dodged yet another frost bolt, flitting around on Kipperin's wings, reluctant to land, where she would be overpowered easily.

"Stop moving!" The old man howled, frustrated, and she stuck her tongue out at him childishly, provoking him. To her surprise, the next thing that came flying at her was a rock Brahe had conjured and throw. She darted to one side, eyes narrowing. Enough was enough.

Another shout came from the ground. "Raypulse!"

Though Kipperin strained against it, the blonde made them stay in place. "Armourbrand!" The blue shield deflected the blast, and as Ammit Heart-Eater was distracted by the pretty sparkles, Freelancer pierced its chest, sending it back to Klaus as a stream of golden light.

Nighlurker appeared from the shadows once more, between Loki's Hoplite and Dante, driving him away whenever he tried to get close to the one he was protecting. Cherit, alarmed, flew to the auburn's side. "Hoplite's in trouble!"

Dante jumped as the creature suddenly appeared at his side, facing him to try and see what was there, then turned his sightless eyes forwards again. "I can't see, Cherit, but my titans can!" He pulled an amulet from his pocket, knowing it by voice and feel alone. "Invoke, Hoplite!" The titan materialized by its brother, the pair waving their swords to ward Nighlurker back.

A hand on his arm and a voice in his ear startled Dante. "Good idea, Hoplites work best when working together!" Will waved towards the pair already fighting. "Join them, Hoplite!"

Laughter came from above them as Loki swooped overhead, coming to land on Dante's other side, Kipperin keeping his wings extended ready for flight. "Now that's team work!" She turned to her mentor, eyes bright. "You can depend on us, Dante. We won't let you down!"

* * *

><p>Above them, the sounds of battle muted and detached, Zhalia stared down at the pair of suits sat at her feet, their titans and her own returned to their amulets. "What was the point of all that?" One suit whined, rubbing his head.<p>

Zhalia raised an eyebrow. "I can't blow my cover till Klaus says so." She glared at the pair who were stupid enough to try and take her on. "You _know _that."

With a sigh, rubbing aching body parts and nursing injured pride, the suits got to their feet. "We better get back into position, incase the master calls for us."

She shrugged, letting them past. "You do that." Padding past them, she walked down the stairs, dread in her heart, anxious and fretful. Pausing at the last turning before the door, she peered around the corner, watching the battle. "I should be down there, fighting." She murmured to Gareon as he appeared on her shoulder. "But on whose side?" She watched in horror as Klaus stalked across the battlefield towards the blinded Dante as he got separated from the teens. Cherit, eyes wide and wingbeats frantic, flew to his oldest friend.

"Look out, Dante!" He shrieked, tugging at the man's collar. "That freaky man Klaus is coming this way!"

Dante stood his ground, turning his head slightly to talk to the worried titan. "It's alright, Cherit. Go help Loki."

"The girl is an interesting specimen," Dante turned towards the new voice, eyes scanning the area even though darkness was all they found. "But I haven't forgotten about you."

Dante smirked in Klaus's general direction. "I don't suppose you're coming to hand me the Bottle of Djinn?" He asked cordially.

Klaus dipped his head, just as polite. "Terribly sorry." He grinned wickedly. "No." Silently, he raised his hands towards the smiling face of his opponent. "Poisonfang!"

Letting his well-tuned instincts move for him, Dante flinched to one side of the green torrent, and it passed him by without taking affect. Sliding into a steadying fighting stance, eyes closed and hands in a cross before him, the Seeker waited for his chance to strike.

Klaus just laughed, letting the hopelessness of the Huntik Foundation team's situation wash over him in waves of darkness. "No need to waste powers," He bared his teeth in a mocking grin. "My spinning Lastedge is going to tear you into pieces!"

He marched towards Dante as the team, caught up in battles against his titans and suits, could only watch in horror as the whirling, slicing net wove closer to their friend. Suddenly, just as Klaus stepped within touching distance, Dante's eyes shot open, their pupils almost glowing, shining with a pure and true light. Reaching out, he grasped the Lastedge in a spot where the poison spikes had moved from, and pulled, breaking it and tearing it away from Klaus, leaving the man frail, and defenseless. The old man spluttered, hastily stepping back. Cherit cheered from his place in the air, hands clasped together in joy. "You can see!"

Dante smirked, eyes gold once more. "I'm sorry, Klaus." He tilted his head to one side, grin wicked, impish, and entirely unapologetic. "Did I give you the impression that Everfight didn't heal my sight?"

The scientist snarled. "More surprises!" He muttered, scuttling away. "Guards! Take them!" Adjoining doors on both sides of the room burst open, and fours suits, each with their own titan, stepped forth, ready to fight for their master.

"Raypulse!"

"Augerfrost!"

Four beams of power shot from the sidelines of the battle, one catching Kipperin's wings as he flew to avoid one blast, and ran straight into another. Loki cried out as the floor grew closer at a frightening speed, till a soft golden nimbus of light covered her, setting her down gently on the floor. "Featherdrop!" A bolt of white light streaked towards the pair huddled on the ground, Will pulling Loki closer to him before calling out. "Honourguard!"

"We're surrounded!" The blonde turned to crouch back-to-back with Will. "How are we going to get to the Bottle of Djinn?"

Klaus smirked, looking over at the teens. "The girl is correct. Your mission has failed. The Bottle of the Djinn is forever out of your reach!" He reached into his waistcoat and pulled the blue, glowing bottle out, holding it tauntingly away from Dante. The russet-haired Seeker shrugged, nonplussed.

"That's fine." He grinned. "I never wanted it." He turned and reached into the compartment that Klaus had left open earlier as the older man gaped at him, eyes bulging comically out of his head.

"You _DON'T_?!"

"Nope." He pulled out the golden object hidden at the back of the container. "My real mission was to retrieve this!" He showed those gathered the item from the holder. A long spear made of gold, the hilt adorned with a pair of bright bat-like wings, the bottom made of rusted, red metal that looked like flaking blood. "The Spear of Vlad the Impaler!"

* * *

><p>Zhalia, hidden around the corner, felt her eyes grow round and wide, some part of her shattering as one core belief fell to pieces. "Dante outsmarted Klaus?!" She shook her head in disbelief. "But, no one can out-think him...?"<p>

* * *

><p>Loki stared at her mentor in admiration and adoration. "First the Sceptre, then the Bottle, and now the Spear!" Her eyes shone with awe. "Its a triple fake-out!" Will rolled his eyes at her. Only Loki would be this in love with a bluff. Maybe he should teach her how to play poker...If they got out of this alive that is.<p>

Cherit swooped down to the teens, clapping happily. "Dante truly pulled out all the stops this time!"

Dante smiled at his teammates, then turned to Klaus, eyes turning dangerously dark. "Now that I have what I want, its time to get serious." He gleamed a bright myriad of colours, each bringing a new warrior to the fight. "Freelancer! Caliban! Solwing!"

Grabbing Will's hand as the new trio of titans charged the suits and the enemy titans, Loki towed him over to Dante. "Guys, we should probably let the titans hold everyone off whilst we make a break for it." She pointed at the clear path to the door that the fight had made for them. Dante grinned at her.

"Sounds like a plan."

The team ran for the stairs, Dante leading the way with the teens close on his heels, when Loki suddenly stopped at the base of the stairs, turning around and giving out a low whistle. Leaving his brethren who were swiping at Nighlurker, Loki's Hoplite charged across the battle to her. Will turned to her confused, Dante pausing at the top of the stairs before running down them towards the teens again.

"What are you doing?!" The blonde gave him a grim smile, leaping onto the lion-back of the Hoplite and holding onto its human waist.

"Taking back something that was stolen from me!" Nudging the titan in the sides with her knees, Loki and Hoplite leapt back into the fight as Dante reached the bottom of the steps again, looking after her with fear and worry. The trio left behind made to follow, but the remaining Hoplites blocked their path inadvertently, beaten back by the shadow-homed bundle of bandages they were fighting.

Clinging tight to Hoplite as he dodge titans and suits alike, Loki narrowed her eyes as Klaus came into view, running for a second door at the back of the chamber. At a silent command, the Greek titan sprang, landing on Klaus's back and pining him there as he squirmed and struggled. Jumping down from her ride, the blonde stood before the old man lying on the ground, smiling sweetly. "You know what I want." She said simply. "Give it back."

Klaus spat at her, and she narrowed her eyes. Raising a hand slowly, she clicked her fingers, and Hoplite's lion paws extended claws that nearly, almost but not quite, bit into Klaus's shoulders. "It would best if you handed it over." Loki warned him. "It'll be quite unpleasant if you don't. Well," She shrugged. "Unpleasant for you, anyways."

A spark of fear wormed its way into the scientist's eyes, and he tried to speak, the pressure from the titan on his back making it difficult. Loki waved her hand, and Hoplite settled back, just a bit. Klaus spoke again, his words almost inaudible against the sounds of the battle. "I don't have it. It was taken from me. _He _wanted it. _He _has it now."

Snarling, and trying to ignore the fear now settling in her heart, Loki turned and ran, using Nimblefire to slip through the fighters as lithe as a cat, leaving Hoplite to keep Klaus preoccupied. Darting around the other Hoplites, she faced her angry teammates with a sigh. "Its gone. He doesn't have it anymore."

Nodding, Dante led the way upstairs again, ushering the teens on before bursting into the laboratory. Will rolled his eyes at the woman waiting for them. "Zhalia, what are you doing up _here?_"

She rolled her eyes right back. "I could ask you the same thing." She shook her head, gesturing at the stairwell. "You can't outrun the Organization."

Loki grinned. "We won't have to." She turned to Will. "Help me block the staircase?"

He smiled back. "I'll handle it, you go on with the others." She nodded, and ran off, whilst the Casterwill turned to the archway. "Bubblelift!" A bookcase, surrounded by a blue sphere, moved till it blocked the stairs off to anyone coming up. Dante, who was waiting by the door, ran to his student's side.

"Let me give you a hand- Stopglue!" His new-found power covered the shelves in white-blue strands, binding it in place, and stopping anyone from pushing it over. Even as he finished, it began to shake.

Loki smiled as the boys caught up with her and Zhalia. "That should slow them down!"

Dante shook his head. "Not for long- let's get to the surface!"

The team ran, and were one for the lucky few who saw Hell unbidden and made it out alive and whole, though Zhalia couldn't help but feel that she left a part of her behind in the dark passageways- her certainty in her purpose in life had been shaken. She didn't know who she was anymore, or who she was loyal to. Which side was she on really? And would she figure it out before it was too late?

* * *

><p><em>Venice, Italy<em>

The team flew home using the jet the Foundation had gifted them for the mission, before setting on the auto-pilot spell to make a ghost-pilot to fly it back to base. Worn out by the past couple of days, the teens slumped on one of the plushy sofas in the lounge, watching with excitement as Dante settled into his armchair to retell his master plan to them in detail now that they were out of danger. Zhalia, not sure if she was comfortable being there, perched on the edge of one couch, body half-turned away from the group, but still curious.

Bombarded by questions, Dante managed to calm Loki's admiration for a moment to explain himself. "Klaus has always been one step ahead of us, so I guess that he had us bugged." He grinned apologetically. "That's why I lied about what we were after." Loki's clever mind quickly cottoned onto his scheme.

"So he was tied up in protecting something worthless." She sighed happily at the deviousness of the idea.

Dante nodded. "And since the _real _objective was nothing special, he wouldn't think he needed to guard it." Will shook his head, confused, reading the search results from the Cipherdex on his knee.

"That spear did hold a titan at one time, Antedeluvian, but it bonded with a Seeker named Vlad the Impaler."

Loki peered over his shoulder, curling up on the couch and leaning her head against him. "If was just another creepy souvenir for that nutcase."

Dante smiled at the pair. "Yes, its true, but I have reason to believe that Vlad Dracul's spear has another secret."

As the hours passed, the team tried to get more out of the elusive Dante, but he refused to answer, wanting to save the surprise till later. Already uncomfortable around them, the unwanted feeling of betrayal lingering in her heart, Zhalia gave them all her excuses, a weak smile, and left.

* * *

><p>That night, when the world was silent and dark, she lay in her apartment with the phone pressed against her ear, praying to any gods that were listening, whether she believed in them or not, that Klaus would be forgiving. The first thing she heard when she picked up was his snarl, and she knew her wish had not been granted.<p>

"Blowing your cover is no longer a concern, _Zhalia!_"

"I understand..."

"No more slip ups!" The order held an unspoken, deadly promise, and she flinched in the the cushions of her sofa. "The target is no longer _only _Dante Vale. His entire team must be eliminated!"

Hanging up, Zhalia turned to stare out at the sky, her hair near matching it for colour, and hoping that the dawn would shed some light on her situation. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way for her to get out of this without anyone getting hurt...

* * *

><p>AN: And fin for another episode. ^_^ The next one is one of my favourites!<p> 


	57. Chapter 56 The Vampire Loses Its Fangs

AN: YAY! Zhalia backstory time!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 56- The Vampire Loses its Fangs Part 1

_Metz Country Estate, Germany_

"Dante," The voice was hoarse, a mere shadow of its former strength, weak just as the body that made it was weak, just as the soul of its owner was weak. A frail hand reached for his own as coughs racked Metz's body, his soulful brown eyes filled with pain that was quickly hidden. "The titans locked away in Vlad Dracul's castle are dangerously to falling _straight _into the Professor's hands."

Dante shifted uncomfortably, leaning his elbows on the bed next to his friend, eyes amber-dark with thought. Metz smiled weakly at his old student. "You were hoping," He croaked. "That the mission would be to find a cure or my illness." He stopped to cough, the nurse at his bedside fiddling uselessly with one of the many machines that circled the dying man like vultures. She frowned, eyes dimming, as her efforts did little to help.

A quiet voice drew Metz's eyes towards his friend. "Yes." Looking up, golden, fiery eyes, filled with passion and pain, and love, dangerous and pure, Dante shook his head stubbornly. "Your life is more important."

"Dante!" Metz chastised him fiercely. "Your first priority must _always _be to fight evil!" He broke into a fit of wet, hacking coughs. "You," He gasped. "Must _always _remember."

* * *

><p><em>Countryside, Southern Romania<em>

A voice broke through his troubled memories. "Dante?" Only half listening, amber eyes turned to look. "Are you okay?"

Loki rested her chin on her hands, leaning across the table to frown at him. "You haven't been yourself since you got back from Germany." Dante tilted his head at her, confused, and she gave him a bright, if awkward smile. "You seem a bit...preoccupied." She said at last, looking back out the window at the countryside rushing by. The train, contrary to its old-fashioned appearance, was quite a quick little thing, zipping through the Romanian provinces like a whistling bullet. Glancing back at her mentor, who was sat on the other side of the four-seater table next to Will, and then at Zhalia lounging by her side, she knew without a doubt they were all remembering that morning before they had flown to Romania, back at Dante's canalside home...

* * *

><p><em>"Alright!" Loki cheered, checking her bag one last time, Cherit perched on her shoulder. "Transylvania here we come!" Will rolled his eyes at her from his seat across the room, pulling the laces on his trainers tighter. <em>

_"That's only in the movies, Loki." He explained good-naturedly, if a little exasperated. "The _real_ Vlad was actually the prince of a neighboring province, Wallachia." The blonde stuck her tongue out at him, more interested in the gory horror stories that filled her mind at the mere mention of the name Vlad Dracul._

_"Right." Dante's voice came from the door, and Loki leapt to her feet, grinning and eager to be off. "Everyone ready to go?" Looking over, she allowed herself to plonk back onto the couch. Her mentor glanced over._

_"What is it, Loki?" He tilted his head to one side, thinking. "Did I forget to pack something? Caliban, Solwing? Metagolem, Freelancer? The Holotome?" Riffling through his many pockets, he quickly assured himself that he had his favourite fighters and much needed equipment to hand._

_The azure-eyed teen shook her head, smiling to herself and biting her lip to stop herself from laughing as she stared at Dante's bare feet. "Its fine." She giggled. "It doesn't look like you forgot anything important. You'll soon figure it out." _

* * *

><p>Loki grinned to herself as she remembered, and her amber-eyed friend shot her a glare, to wanting to be reminded of his <em>minor<em> mistake. Shrugging back at him, movement caught her eye, and she peered over Dante's shoulder to see the last person in their carriage leave for the diner car. Giving the team a thumbs up, she leaned forwards expectantly as the Holotome was pulled out and placed open before them.

"Alright, Seekers, let's get started. We have a mission." Dante pressed a few buttons, and it whirred into life, whilst Loki and Will shared a look, now used to their friend's way of starting mission briefings, thinking it a funny quirk, and part of what Dante himself. A green hologram of a towering, foreboding castle, looming tall over the surrounding landscape, appeared on the Holotome. "Mission: The Titans of Vlad Dracul. Reach the castle of Vlad Dracul, and prevent the Organization from taking Vlad's titans." He plucked the mission card hovering in front of him out of the air, tucking it away in his trenchcoat. "Vlad possessed an impressive collection of titans, including," He pressed a symbol, and a figure appeared on the display. "The vampiric Antediluvian."

Loki eyed the titan warily. "Before the flood." She murmured softly, thinking, and Will frowned at her.

"What?"

She looked over. "That's what his name means. Antediluvian. Before the flood. Its the era between the creation of Earth and Noah's flood in the Bible." Her lips quirked into an sarcastic smile. "Bit of a strange name for such a demonic titan."

Her words were not misplaced. The humanoid titan, dressed blood-red armour, shared only its form with humanity. Its skin was pale blue, like a corpse, its hair lank, greasy, long and a strange lilac colour. A tattered cloak hung from its proud, strong shoulders, fluttering between its back and its giant, bat-like wings. Its sword, a mighty weapon almost as tall as the titan was, seemed to be made from several spinal vertebrae, its end a bone-white spear tip. Eyes gleaming yellow, the image hissed, revealing sharp fangs, just as the Holotome revealed its special ability: Unlimited Powerdrain.

Loki frowned, confused. "Wait, I thought it was the guy that was a vampire?" Will laughed softly, leaning back against his seat.

"Vlad was actually a Seeker, one of the most evil in history."

Zhalia folded her arms, eyes shadowed beneath her dark fringe. "His reputation was so bad, normal people figured he had to be a monster."

Cherit emerged from Loki's bag in the handluggage netting above their heads, taking their conversation about titans to mean the coast was clear. He crawled down to nestle between Loki and Zhalia, his head just poking up over the table. "But, if these titans were bonded to such an evil man...!" He trailed off, unable to continue, and Zhalia finished the sentence for him

"Then they'll attract other evil Seekers, right Dante?"

Dante nodded slowly, staring at his younger friends, trying to impress upon them the importance of what he was saying. "Exactly. If the Professor ends up with Vlad's collection of titans..." He sighed, bowing his head. "It would be a disaster for the Huntik Foundation."

* * *

><p>As he spoke these words, little did he know that a pair of black sedans were driving through the high roads of Romania, and were at that moment pausing at a crossroads, the doors opening to reveal Klaus and his suits.<p>

"Master," One turned his his superior. "Which way to the castle?"

"One moment." Klaus closed his eyes for a moment. "Neverlost!" His eyes snapped open, a blue mist covered them, but rather than blocking his sight, it made it clearer. The power sent him streaking along the road in his mind's eye, up twisting lanes and finally, to the tall, grey walls of Vlad Dracul's castle.

"There!" He pointed to the right path. "The Legendary titans are hidden from my new found power, but not Vlad's wonderful stash-" He made to say more, but a cry from behind cut him off.

"Master!" A suit carrying an open Technonomicon hurried towards Klaus. "Its the Professor! He demands a word!" Klaus gave one sharp nod, and the suit opened the communications. The Professor's face, made out of red light, appeared, hovering in the air before them.

"You promised me more titans, Klaus, amongst other things!" The scarred man barked. "I must have them to realise my goals!"

A sinister smile crept across the old man's face. "Never fear, Professor." The smile grew, baring teeth in a vicious mockery of kindness. "I've found quite a stash."

* * *

><p>The countryside flew by, the gentle chugging of the train the only sound. It was peaceful, and yet she could find no peace in it. The closer they got to the castle, the closer they came to the time when Zhalia would have to make a choice. The answer was one she could not find, both ties to each side to strong to break. If only the train ride could last forever! Then she could be safe, isolated from the cruel outside world, and free to spend eternity with this group of quirky, odd, sometimes rude, always kind, loving, caring people, to who she had unknowingly given a piece of her heart.<p>

Blue eyes, the spirit of fun and adventure, filled with joy at life and kindness for others, a little sister that needed protecting and teaching, and sometimes a sharp tongue to calm her down. Loki had filled a part of her heart that she didn't know was hollow.

Green eyes, they had seen too much and still did, filled with wisdom beyond their years, an annoying brat to tease and be teased by, a big head to deflate, one to care for and be cared by even though neither of them would admit it. Will was so like her, it was impossible for her to not like him, and he took the part of her that had always wanted a brother.

Golden eyes that changed with the light of the place and the mood, a solid core protected by many layers, they seemed to catch her soul within them, promising so many things she knew that would be kept, honor and duty and love all in one. Star-crossed though they were, Dante was her soulmate, though a tiny part at the back of her mind, the Klaus-Her, analytical and cold, told her such things did not exist outside of fairytales. But he was like a fairytale, a golden, shining prince that saved her when she needed saving, held her when she needed to be held, always saying the right thing and being just what she needed. They were bound together across the ages by something neither of them could deny.

And yet, for all of this, there were two, unavoidable facts.

One, Klaus was her grandfather, and she was tied to him by blood, which came before all else.

Two, Klaus wanted the team dead, or captured alive for his experiments.

And he wanted her to kill them...

"Zhalia?"

The sudden voice at her ear startled her, and she jumped away to one side. Recognising the man at her side, she half-turned away, looking back over the end of the train again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. "Dante, what'd you want?" She tried to make her voice cold and harsh, but he melted the ice she tried to hide her heart in, and it came out more sweet than sour.

His eyes were dark amber, as they always were when he was worrying. It made her heart jump a little to know it was her he was worrying about, to know that he cared. She looked away, swearing in the back of her mind- her will was breaking just thinking about it! She felt his eyes on her even though she couldn't see them.

"It looks like this mission has you edge." He said nothing more, waiting patiently for her to want to talk, even though she could hear the thousands of questions he longed to ask her, flowing silently under his voice.

She faced him, trying to tell him with her eyes what she couldn't say with words- go back! Don't carry on! Don't make me kill you. "I just have a bad feeling is all." She muttered finally, staring him down. He looked away as she had done, neither of them good at hiding their true feelings in their eyes.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Dante's voice was quite, gentle, barely heard above the train and the whistling wind, its grasping fingers snatching at the honeyed tones as if she too, like Zhalia, loved to listen to them.

"You're one to talk." The blue-haired Seeker smiled, raising an eyebrow at his now-shod feet. "You're the one with something on his mind. It's that Huntik Foundation bigwig you that keep visiting, right." He bowed his head with a sigh, and she knew that she had touched on something painful, but she couldn't help but be glad that the conversation had turned away from her own troubles. They weren't exactly ones she could ask him for help with.

"So," He said, after a long silence. "You know about Metz."

She shook her head disbelievingly. "Of course." Zhalia tilted her head to one side to look at him. "He's the top dog on the Huntik Council."

"And he's also the one that taught me to be a Seeker." His golden, lion eyes burned into her's, and she could feel in her own heart the grief that was swirling in them, torturing his soul with pain and agony that nothing could stop, would stop. "He was...my whole world. And now," He paused, taking a deep breath before carrying on. "He's very sick." Zhalia could tell just how hard it was for him to admit it, and wondered if it was the first time that Dante had ever said the truth outloud. "I," Dante stopped, looking away, his hands white-knuckled around the safety rail of the train's balcony. When he spoke again, it was thick with tears, deep and catching in his throat as if he didn't want to let the words out, where they would be free and true and inescapable. "I don't know how much longer he has."

Unwillingly, she felt her mind drawn back to her own memories.

* * *

><p><em>That dark time, when the streets were her home, and the scent of food was the only name she needed to come running. Running when she was caught, finding the secret ways of the city, fighting others for her scraps and running again, finding the church and thinking it was familiar. She walked through the rows of little stones, reading names both old and new, till she found the one she knew had led her here. <em>

R.I.P

Kasper Moon, laid to rest beside his beloved wife, Cassandra Moon

Loved son and daughter, cherished parents

1958-1987 1961-1987

"We'll meet again"

_Zhalia cried seeing that last line. It was the favorite song of her mother, a strong, independent woman who preferred to be called the informal Cassie to her grandma's traditional choice of Cassandra. All she could remember was the smell of roses, the soft brush of lips on her forehead, the flash of deep blue hair in the sunlight, blue eyes as bright as the sky. Her mother was Kindness. Her father, Kasper, was Strength, with brown hair and eyes, a dull starling to her mother's vibrant sparrow. He picked her up when she fell, held her when she cried, supported her through all of her mistakes and achievements. Both her parents had given her spirit and fire, along with her unique name, her father's eyes, her mother's hair, and both their strength. That strength failed her now, as she read that line and realised for the first time, let her accept it for the first time, that they had lied._

_They would never meet again._

_The trudge of weary footsteps startled her, and as a voice called out her name, she turned to run, but a root from the cherry-blossom tree that was planted near the grave caught her foot, and she fell. Arms immediately picked her up, spinning her around to stare into brown eyes that were so similar to her own. _

_"Zhalia?" The man asked, smiling unsurely. "I'd know your hair anywhere."_

_Slowly at first, then faster, memories of this man returned. Klaus, her grandfather, the man she'd been sent to live with, the man that had abandoned her to his suits and their experiments. She glared at him as fiercely as a five-year old could, and he hung his head._

_"You don't trust me?" Klaus sighed. "I knew you were upset, but my men told me you were happy enough... I shouldn't have trusted them, I could see something was wrong...After all, you ran away." _

_There and then, the pure sorrow that she could see in his eyes convinced her he cared, and she told him about what had happened to her- how everytime he left for work around the world, the needles would come out, the suits with their charts and pills and things to be tested, none of them caring that the subject was a scared, confused little girl, half-dead with grief._

_And when he said he would deal with it in the same, controlled, almost emotionless voice her father had used when he was very _very _angry, she believed him, and took his hand._

_After that, he included her in all his work, teaching her about titans and Seekers and their magic abilities. She remembered the first time she had cast a spell, playfully mimicking Klaus when he showed her Boltflare, almost screaming in surprise and fear when her own hands lit up with fire. _

_Then, her most precious of memories, the first time she held that spiky, dark-green amulet in her shaking hands, up above her head. Saying the creature's name, and a sudden weight on her shoulder as he appeared, chattering softly, eyes looking at her curiously. Her Gareon, her dearest, closest friend. And Klaus watching with pride from the background, dark eyes lit up with happiness._

* * *

><p>"Dante," She said after a moment, turning to face him. "I know how you feel. I have someone like that." Zhalia placed a gently hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry." And after all the years of falsities, of lies and hidden selves and facades, she knew in that moment, she truly meant it.<p>

He turned to her, and their eyes met, time seeming to slow around them as they were caught in each other's gaze, seeing in the other's eyes the soul of a kindred spirit, a destined friend, a perfect love. Drawn to each other by an irresistible force, they tilted their heads towards each other, Dante trying to speak past the raging tide of his emotions.

"Zhalia," He stopped and started again. "There's something I've been meaning to say," Trailing off again, he took a deep breath, looking down at the amazing, fantastic woman waiting patiently for him to talk. "That that is..." He suddenly turned away, hand cast towards the sky.

"Raypulse!"

The suit that had been lurking on the roof fell backwards, and Dante ran inside to find the teens, leaving Zhalia alone on the platform. The mood well and truly ruined, she folded her arms, cursing the day that the suit was ever born, before leaping onto the roof to confront him.

The man, and his Bonelasher, stared at her incredulously. "Zhalia, what are you-!"

"Touchram!" The acid green power sent the titan flying off the train, his master almost following before reaching out a hand to grab the edge. Mocha eyes dark with anger, Zhalia growled under her breath.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

* * *

><p>Inside, the innocent passengers sat quiet and content, as meek as lambs, unaware of the struggle for their very survival was taking place about them.<p>

This peaceful silence, the calm in the eye of the storm, was shattered as Dante was sent flying through the door, rolling head over heels down the aisle before standing slowly, to face the suit now padding through the wreckage of splinters he had made with his own body.

The suit, a man of dark skin and even darker disposition, made to use a crimson power, but as he rushed forwards, his lion-eyed opponent caught him by the lapels of his long coat and tossed him down the train, people screaming and hiding beneath tables, eyes wide and unbelieving.

The dark man rose unsteadily to his feet, then snarled and charged Dante, hands like claws, eyes aflame with anger and hatred. Golden eyes narrowed, watching and waiting, as he drew ever closer. As the suit drew back a fist to strike, the auburn lashed out viper-quick, dazing his rival. Holding the man up by his collar, he smashed a nearby window with his elbow, before chucking the suit out, ignoring the cries of horror from the innocents behind. He half turned to them, face obscured by his shaggy hair, eyes dark amber and dangerous, before walking away, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

"No ticket."

* * *

><p>Further down the train, a blond suit and his Bonelasher had cornered the teens behind a set of seats. Loki, peering out to try and assess the situation, made an abrupt and rather scared '<em>squeak'<em> before ducking her head back behind the wood, a Raypulse streaking past her cheek the cause for her concern. Turning to Will as she held up a Honourguard, the boy nodded, reaching for the amulet around his neck.

"Sabriel!"

The pink-haired fencer leapt forwards, her sword flashing in the light of the battle, swinging towards the Bonelasher, who grabbed her wrist as she got close, preventing her from attacking. Holding her at arms length as she struggled to get free, the green titan gave a dark chuckle before slicing its claws through Sabriel's stomach, turning her to light that flowed back to Will, who winced at the titan's return.

Loki, sensing the desperation of their situation as an Enforcer appeared on the scene, dug out the only fighter she had that was small enough to fit inside the train's confines. "Freelancer!" The blue armoured titan appeared in a flash of cyan light, lunging at the Enforcer, who flew back, alarmed, before shooting a white beam at Freelancer's unprotected back. The titan shivered, rubbing his arms, as the Enforcer recharged its evil third eye.

Unknown to the bug-like monster, a small rucksack was floating above its fat head, glowing a soft blue-purple. Suddenly, a powerful, familiar, multicoloured beam blasted the bag to bits, striking the Enforcer and shaking its concentration. The bug turned, furious, to meet Cherit's smiling face. Loki, seeing the creature's distraction, called to her titan. "Charge, now!" Needing no further encouragement, Freelancer darted forwards to spear the Enforcer, turning it back to the red-brown light from whence it came.

Whilst the titans battled, the Bonelasher leapt up to the roof of the train's compartment, coming down with a mighty crash right between Loki and Will, separating the teens. Swiping at the Casterwill boy, its attacks were repelled by a swiftly cast Honourguard. Narrowing her cyan eyes, the blonde leapt at the titan with a power on her lips and round her legs. "Hyperstride!"

Knocking into the tentacled humanoid, and sending it off balance, she landed on one knee, quickly bringing her hands up to face its screeching face. "Boltflare!" The twisting ball of light hit it square in the face, and its raised its hands to its burning eyes, screaming. Will cast out his hands towards it, and another fireball soon followed. Enraged, the titan swiped blindly in Loki's direction, and she jumped back out of range, it following the sounds of her footsteps and the brightness of her magical aura.

The suit, forgotten till now, raised his blue-white hands towards the brunette's unsuspecting back. "Auger-!" He was cut off as the windows either side of him erupted into shards of glass, Dante and Zhalia flying in from each side, landing lithely on their feet, fists raised.

"Raypulse!" A fiery bolt flew from Zhalia's hands to blast back the Bonelasher, Loki squeaking in shock as she darted out of the titan's way. The creature hit the wall, bursting into light upon impact, the green flow disappearing back to the suit Dante was now facing off against. As the man winced, distracted by the return of his companion, the gold-eyed man struck.

"Dragonfist!"

One punch was all it took, and the suit fell senseless to the floor, sprawled at the Huntik Seeker's feet as he glared down at the one who had tried to hurt his teammates.

Loki bounded over, grinning. "Nice timing!"

Will nodded, glancing out the shattered windows. "Yeah." He bent to pick up the bags that were scattered around where they were sitting, as the train whistled to signify the station, the gateway that would lead to the castle of Vlad Dracul. "We nearly missed our stop."

* * *

><p>AN: Up next- the inner battles, and outer ones too, begin!<p> 


	58. Chapter 57 The Vampire Part 2

AN: Sorry for the wait, people. The battle begins!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 57- The Vampire Loses its Fangs Part 2

Loki sighed, pushing an annoying strand of hair behind her ear before looking around at the dreary landscape. They had left the train station an hour before and, due to the complete absence of any form of taxi, had decided to walk to the castle themselves. Even with their Seeker endurance, no one was looking particularly happy about the hike, except of course Cherit, who was always happy for an opportunity to spread his wings away from civilization.

Jogging to catch up to the others as Will looked back to wave for her to hurry up, she rounded the corner after them before stopping, eyes wide and smile wider. Before them, on top of a hill that made it the perfect strategic home for royalty, with towering walls made of dark stone, lay the castle of Vlad Dracul. Instantly forgetting her aching legs, the blonde bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly as the others took a brief rest. "Alright! We made it!"

Will rolled his eyes at her, rubbing his calves. "Not quite yet." He turned to Dante, who was watching the castle with wary eyes. "How do we get it?" The auburn half turned to look at them, eyes glinting with a secret, before smiling mischievously and saying nothing at all.

* * *

><p>The team reached the walls of the castle a half hour later, both nervous and excited, some more so than others. Reaching the mighty doors, Zhalia shoved them half-heartedly before turning to the others with a shrug. "So, how <em>do <em>we get in?"

Padding away from the team to a statue of a knight on a rearing horse, a spear in his outstretched hand, Dante reached into one of his many pockets before answering. "With the Spear of Vlad." He pulled out the red and gold weapon before clambering up the base of the statue so he was standing at the feet of the horse. "It may not have magic powers," He explained. "But it does serve as a key to the castle." Holding the spear in a practiced, balanced grip, he thrust it forwards into the gap between the solider's breastplates. Immediately, the wound began to glow red, the eyes of the knight following suit soon after. Loki grimaced.

"That's...pleasant."

Behind her, the great doors to the keep swung open soundlessly, revealing the way to the titans, and the goal of their mission. Keeping close together, the team stopped as Will paused just over the threshold, going pale and swaying slightly. He waved them away, taking a deep breath as colour returned to his cheeks. "There's something here, something evil and powerful." He shook his head. "It doesn't want us here." Loki squeezed his hand.

"No duh." She looked up at the walls that now hemmed them in, tall and foreboding. "I don't think we needed your spider sense to tell us that." Cherit nodded, flying with a shiver to perch on the blue-eyed teen's shoulder.

"Looks like a nasty place." He murmured in his hoarse voice. Dante eyed the windows looking down on them suspiciously, knowing too well just how easy it would be to get ambushed in a place like this.

"Klaus will be drawn to an evil place like this." He sighed. "In fact, I'm sure he's already found his own way in." Ushering the team on, Dante lead them across the courtyard, not knowing that the eyes he had felt on his back came from above the doors, came from cold, red-brown eyes, and came from Klaus.

* * *

><p>The team gathered in a sheltered corner of the yard, where their backs would be safe from attack, and they could concentrate on the mission ahead. Dante pulled out his Holotome, pressing a sequence of buttons, then settling back to wait. "Initiating scanning mode." The machine reported in its emotionless voice, a hologram in green light appearing bit by bit on its display.<p>

"The castle has three main sections," Dante explained as the machine worked. "The main area, the tower level, and the basements."

Will nodded, speaking up and breaking the thoughtful silence he had fallen into since they had entered the castle. "That power..." He muttered quietly, before looking up at the team. "Vlad's left a magic spell on the whole place to keep his titans invoked. They could be," He paused, remembering the evil presence from earlier, and corrected himself. "They _are _active and waiting."

Dante pursed his lips, thinking. "With that power, Vlad's titans will be hard to take down."

Loki sighed, smiling sarcastically. "It could never be as easy as going into a castle and finding an amulet, could it?" Her russet-haired mentor shot her a Look, before turning back to the Holotome.

"We should stay clear, and fight with ranged attackers like Icarus and Gareon." The two examples appeared in the light of the Holotome, hovering beside the castle as the machine rolled out their statistics. Loki sighed, tapping a hand on her hip nervously.

"How are we going to search such a big castle quickly?" She asked, gesturing to the hologram before them. "We need to get in and get out before Klaus realises we're here."

Zhalia shifted , hiding her fear behind a cool mask as always. "Well," The blue-haired Seeker shrugged. "We'll have to split up." Will narrowed his eyes at her before turning to Dante, who was nodding in agreement.

"Right." He split the image on the screen into the three main parts. "I'll take the top. With my mobility, I'll be able to go between towers easily." A tiny Dante made of red light began to run around the upper levels, jumping between towers like a monkey, something Dante himself would soon be doing too. The towers, now dealt with, disappeared, and the image turned to the main area of the castle.

"Zhalia, you'll take here." Dante tapped the picture with a finger. "That way there'll be space to summon King Basilisk if necessary." A tiny Zhalia appeared in the machine, standing with its arms crossed, and looking around at the courtyard they themselves were in. Will crossed his arms too, glaring fiercely at Zhalia.

"Wait just a minute!" He snapped. "Dante, don't send her alone! Haven't you noticed she's been acting even weirder than usual lately?"

"I'm standing right here, you know!" The blue- and brown-haired Seekers growled at each other as the auburn shook his head, he and Loki both used to arguments between the two.

Loki rolled her eyes, laughing quietly under her breath. "I can go with her." She offered, smiling at the coffee-eyed operative. "We made a great team in Egypt."

Dante shook his head. "No, you need to go with Will and Cherit for my plan to work." He shot Will a Look as he opened his mouth to protest, and the teen huffed, sulking and muttering under his breath. "The basement levels could be dangerous but," He smiled at them both proudly. "You can handle it. You've both come a long way." The teens shared a wide smile, remembering the days when their sole task during missions was to stick next to Dante and try not to get in the way, or get hurt. "Just stay alert," Their mentor couldn't help but give his charges some last advice. "And keep your eyes open for hidden rooms." He glanced at Loki as he said this, knowing that her puzzler's mind and eyes would come in handy when searching for the titans.

Their jobs decided, the team bid farewell to one another, and spilt up, each of them disappearing into the dark castle within moments.

* * *

><p>Loki, Cherit still huddled on her shoulder, followed Will as he used the Cipherdex to lead them to the basement levels, and to keep track on where they had been. Entering a large underground hall, the blonde tilted her head, looking at the enormous tapestry that covered one wall. Leaving a section of her mind to puzzle over the picture, she turned to the boy behind her. "Hey, Will?" He looked over his shoulder at her before padding over. "These titans we're looking for are supposed to be evil, right?" The Casterwill nodded.<p>

"Yeah, we'll have to be careful with them." He raised an eyebrow at his accident-prone friend as she pouted at him, before both turned serious again.

"But," The blonde began, confused. "Didn't Dante teach us that all titans are neutral?" Cherit nodded, explaining.

"We are!" He paused, considering, then spoke again. "I mean, that's the general rule, but titans take on aspects of their Seekers." Behind them all, hidden in the shadows, yellow eyes gleamed as they caught sight of the fresh meat that had wandered into its grasp.

Will nodded, remembering something he had once heard about the subject. "That's right. Its said that the more powerful or extreme the Seeker, the more effected their titans will be."

Cherit nodded approvingly, glad to have such a fine student. "Remember when Dante gave you your Freelancer amulet?" Loki nodded, her hand slipping into her pocket as the titan within stirred at the mention of his name. "Freelancer Bonded easily to you, because you and Dante have the same strength in your hearts." The blonde smiled, before a thought flitted across her mind.

"The same thing happened with Lindorm." Will frowned, looking over sharply.

"But you and Lindorm had nothing in common!" He cried. "He was vicious, wild, and entirely too blood-thirsty for anyone's liking." His friend sighed, crossing her arms in an attempt to comfort herself.

"Yeah, and that's exactly what he saw in me." The brunette raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Or rather," Loki shrugged. "That's exactly what he saw in my power." She absent-mindedly tapped the markings around her neck as the puzzling part of her mind suddenly drew her attention to the tapestry once more. She scanned it again, more thoroughly this time, as Will gave her a one-armed hug around her shoulders.

"Yeah, but look at Lindorm now. He's a good fighter, sure, but he's not blood-thirsty. You gave him nobility, and a conscience." Loki smirked, thinking of the threats and arguments that had finally conquered the Bear Dragon's aversion to leaving enemies alive, the strongest one being that she would get Kipperin to fly them into the middle of the desert, or some nice deserted mountains, and bury his amulet where no one would ever find it. Ever.

Something clicking in the back of her mind, the blonde finally felt she could put her finger on what was annoying her about the tapestry. "Hey, Will." She waved him over. "Look at this." She pointed to the picture, which depicted the room they themselves were in, with a line of slaves being led out of the basement up into the castle itself. It took the Casterwill a few moments to figure out what was wrong with it.

"That's odd." He tilted his head to one side. "Those captives are being led out of an alcove."

Loki nodded, turning to look between the alcove behind them and the one in the weaving, measuring them in her mind. "It just isn't big enough to hold all those guys."

A low rumble, too soft to be rock, too rough to be human, echoed around the chamber, and Loki span around to face the darkness, remembering Will's warning of free-roaming titans. After a moment's silence, the blonde sighed and turned back to her friend, both of them sharing a relieved grin.

The roar sounded again, and Cherit cried out in fear. "Loki! Above you!" The teen dived to one side a moment too late, feeling sharp claws and honed blade slice past her far too close. Will, wide green eyes following the flight of their attacker, leapt forwards and grabbed Loki, yanking her to her feet before turning to run.

"Its Antediluvian!" He began to pull her towards the exit. "Quick! Out the way we came in!" Loki shook her head, pulling the other way.

"No!" She let go of Will and ran back into the chamber, with the boy following her a second later. "Into the alcove! Follow me!" Darting into the tiny side-room, the blonde went straight to the back wall, running her hands over it desperately. Will stood at the doorway, a human shield against the monstrous creature now landing before him. Antediluvian stood tall before them, a demonic titan from tales told at night in the darkness, towering over the teens, his bat-like wings casting strange shadows on the walls. The Casterwill, though frightened, made himself stand tall as well, preparing to fight. The vampire stood still for a moment, nose in the air, sniffing, before its pupils narrowed like a cat's, focusing on something over Will's shoulder. It took the boy a heart-stopping second to realise that the only thing behind him was Loki.

Desperately, he raised a hand to the amulet around his neck. "Fly! Icarus!" His movement attracted the attention of the titan, but the blinding flash of light from the air drew its focus elsewhere again, and Will sigh with relief to no longer be under that terrible gaze, to no longer be looked down upon as prey. Icarus spread his mighty wings, lightening gathering between them, waiting till the last second to shoot, allowing the bolt to grow to a large enough size that he thought it would do proper damage. The demon staggered when it hit, bent double clutching its stomach, before rising once more, this time taking to the air after the Greek titan that had attacked it. Before Will could even speak, one claw-tipped hand had grabbed Icarus, a fang-filled mouth had opened wide, leaning towards the other's in a mockery of a kiss, red light flowing from one to the other as Antediluvian used his signature magic- Powerdrain.

Icarus, unable to bear his essence being stolen, disappeared back to Will in a flood a green light. "Loki, whatever you're doing back there, hurry up!" A sharp cry of triumph was his only reply, as the titan in the air above them roared his anger, swooping down towards the alcove for his next victim. Only able to stare like a mouse at a cobra, Will almost fell when a hand slipped around his wrist, pulling him back through a secret door, Cherit just slipping through in time for it to slam closed in front of Antediluvian.

* * *

><p>Loki grinned, stretching her arms behind her head, gazing at the place where the secret door was now hidden once more, unruffled despite yet another near death experience. "That <em>was <em>a close one." She turned to look at Will, who was bent double with his hands on his knees, noticeably more shaken than she was. After a moment, he sighed, standing straight again before leaning on the wall.

"How did you know there was a secret door there?" He asked, calming down. The blonde shrugged.

"In the tapestry, a whole bunch of prisoners were being led out of that alcove. They had to come from _somewhere._"

The brunette stared at her, incredulous, before screeching: "You bet our lives on that tapestry showing a _real event? _Even when most tapestries show _complete fiction?_"

Loki waved off his concern. "Come on, I got us out of there, didn't I?" The argument was halted before it could go any further, as Cherit called back to them from his place at the end of the little tunnel.

"I don't mean to alarm you kids," The titan flew back around the corner. "But I think I've found the reason for Vlad's bad reputation!" Will and Loki shared a look, before the brunette ran around the corner with Cherit to scout it out. As soon as they were both out of sight, the blonde sighed, leaning against the wall to hold herself up. Hissing, she lifted the hem of her top to inspect the four evenly spaced cuts that wrapped around the side of her stomach, her own reminders of their encounter with the demonic titan.

"Loki?" Will poked his head around the corner just as she hurriedly pulled down her top. "You coming?" She smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, yeah, just tying a shoe lace." She padded after him as he darted back into the chamber beyond. It'd just have to wait.

* * *

><p><em>Ten years ago, Vienna<em>

"Hey! Orphan!" The voices chased her as she ran from the market-place, clutching the apple to her chest, the key to her survival. Turning left, she ran for the bridge that would lead to a place she could hide, but figures on the distant bank blocked her way, and she was cornered in the middle.

"Where'd you get that food?" One street kid asked, eyes narrowed in an unspoken threat. The blue-haired girl didn't answer, merely held it even tighter. She was shoved to the floor for her rebellion, the apple torn from her grip as punishment. She tried to struggle to her feet, but was pushed down again. "What ya gonna do about it, huh?" The gang laughed at her tears. "You're nothing!"

* * *

><p><em>A few weeks later, Vienna<em>

"Make me your leader." The little girl was thinner now, her shoulders too narrow for her clothes, her shoes thread-bare, light shivers racking her body. "I can teach you how to steal food." This gang was older, and their shoves of rejection hurt more.

"Whose gonna take orders from a weakling like you?" They jeered.

"Do you wanna eat or not?" Their answer was a beating, before they walked away.

* * *

><p><em>A week after that, Vienna<em>

"I like your ambition." Klaus smiled at the little girl sat next to him in his study, as she told him stories of the people she had met, and the 'adventures' she'd had on the streets. "But that's not enough. To become more you have to truly love power, enough to do anything to get it." The child looked away, unsure.

"No body would follow me." She whispered sadly. "I guess I'm just a nothing."

Klaus rested his hands on her shoulders, getting out of his chair to couch on her eye level. "Then become something. Come with me, to the Organization."

* * *

><p><em>A few years later, Vienna<em>

The girl was a teen now, dressed in her uniform of a dark suit and glasses, blue-black hair down to her shoulders. A car pulled up and she looked over, excited, walking away from the two other suits beside her. She opened the door for her grandfather, and he stood slowly, smiling. "I have a challenge for you, my dear. You will infiltrate our most troublesome opponents: The Huntik Foundation."

* * *

><p><em>A few months ago, Prague<em>

The teen, a woman in full with long blue hair, and cold, dead brown eyes, lounged in the throne-like chair. The door opened, and Klaus padded in, right on time for his meeting. "Ah, there you are, my pretty double agent." She smiled at him, the first time she'd shown true emotion in months.

"Klaus, once this is all over, everyone will show me respect, right?"

"Certainly!" The man was quick to reassure her. "And once your next mission is done, we will have no further competition for the Legendary titans." He passed her two files, and she took the pictures from each of them for study. A man with russet hair and lion-like golden eyes gazed solemnly from the official-style picture of the first, the second obviously one from a hidden cameraman, a blonde teenage girl laughing and smiling its focus, her blue eyes bright and happy.

"These are your targets, Dante Vale," She nodded recognising the name. "And Loki Lambert. Keep the girl alive- she's extremely valuable. The man, you can do with as you wish."

"Yes, Klaus. I'll do it, for you."

* * *

><p><em>Present day, Romania<em>

Back in the basement, the teens were working their way nervously around the room, gazing both with curiosity and horror at the contents. The place was, quite simply, a torture chamber, filled with various implements for inflicting pain on the enemies of the Wallachian rulers. Will grimaced as they walked around the room's center piece- a great pit filled with spikes.

"That thing's _huge._" He muttered, Cherit landing on his shoulder, nodding in agreement. "Not to mention filled with rusty sharp things!"

"Hey, Will?" Loki was standing at the edge of the pit, head tilted to one side. "What was Vlad's nickname again?"

Will sighed, rubbing his forehead in one hand. "You mean the '_Impaler_'?"

The blonde grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "That's the one. Maybe that _impaled_ skeleton might be a good place to start. Certainly fits with his sense of humor."

The Casterwill glanced at the spikes nervously. "O-kay, so are you going to invoke Kipperin and fly over?" Loki bit her lip, thinking.

"I don't know. I need to save some strength for summoning Lindorm..."

A voice broke through their discussion as Cherit flew back from his solo mission to help. He dropped the skull of the skeleton in the cobalt-orbed teen's outstretched hands, and she grinned, though part of her shuddered with revulsion. "Thanks Cherit! Good job!" The little titan beamed at the praise. It wasn't often that he was of much help, well, much important help anyway.

Forcing her hand to remain steady, Loki reached into the skull's mouth, pushing the jaws apart to an unnatural angle to pull out a large, cloth bag. She tossed it up and down in her hand a few times, weighing it, and listening to the sounds that came from it when she jiggled it. Will gasped, his eyes showing a light coming from the bag that only he could see.

"That rope as a spell on it!" He grinned at his friends, reaching out a hand to hover over the item, trying to figure out the power that surrounded it. "I think its to stop any good Seekers from getting inside."

The teens shared a smile, Loki beaming as she realised that their mission just might have come to an end. "Then this _must _be Vlad's stash of titans! We actually found it!" She laughed delightedly. "All we have to do now is use the Cipherdex to call Dante and-" She cut off with a scream as the skull glowed a vibrant blue, light filling the holes where eyes and teeth used to be, the jaws chopping on thin air as she threw it away from her.

The skull, obviously a trap to stop anyone taking the amulets, span around in mid-air and flew towards them. "Look out!" Will pushed Loki aside, not noticing her stumble and wince as he hit her hidden wounds, aiming a hand at the flying, glowing trap. "Raypulse!" A fiery beam shot from his palm, but a shield of blue magic blocked the attack.

Cherit wrung his hands and the skull righted itself in the air and made to attack them again. "We're in trouble!"

A voice startled them all, echoing from the far side of the chamber. "Guys, this way!" Zhalia was stood before the portcullis in the wall, hand on the crank that opened and closed it. The skull shot a beam of light above Loki's head, sending bits of rubble and stone raining down upon the teens' heads.

"Come on! Hurry!" Will grabbed the blonde's hand and towed her towards safety, Cherit soon following as the skull targeted him. Just as the teens passed her, Zhalia span the crank the other way, and the gate began to fall closed, the blue-haired Seeker slipping under it just before it crashed into the ground.

"Close one." She muttered, stretching, before turning to the wide-eyed teens. "Dante sent me to give you two a hand."

"Thanks." Loki smiled gratefully, then froze, looking about her before groaning and holding her head in her hands. "I dropped Vlad's amulet bag! We gotta go back!" Will sighed, exasperated, and Zhalia just shook her head. Loki glared at both of them. "Oh, well next time, we can see how you two react when a skull comes to life in your hands! Lemme tell you, not pleasant!"

"Okay, okay!" Zhalia waved her hands in an attempt to calm the teen down. "One of us will act as a decoy."

Will narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine. That will be you, Zhalia." She smirked at him in reply.

"It will have to be." She said with a smile. "That trap homes in on whichever Seeker nearby holds the strongest amulets. And that's me." The Casterwill was quick to object.

"How do you know whose titans are the most powerful? It could target Loki or me whilst you're trying to distract it!" Will wasn't sure whether to be happy he had been able to poke a hole in Zhalia's plan, or worried that it might fail. He, for one, didn't want to be trapped in the basement forever.

Loki sighed, ever the peace-maker. "Then us two will ditch our amulets. Without them, we shouldn't register on the skull-trap's hit list."

Zhalia tapped her mouth with a finger, thinking. "It...could work." She said at last. Will shook his head, frowning.

"Too risky. Without our amulets, if we do get targeted, we can't defend ourselves. And what if it goes after our amulets when we're not here to guard them!"

The blonde pulled an amulet out of her pocket, smiling. "I have an idea. Come and play, Freelancer!" The blue-armored titan appeared in a cyan flash of light, standing at Loki's right shoulder, shield strapped onto his shoulder. "Freelancer, I need you to stay here with Cherit, and protect our amulets. Call me if anything happens."

The titan nodded, padding across the tiny space to stand, on guard, beside a hole in the wall where the teens could safely hide their titans. Loki, as a gesture of goodwill, went first, placing Freelancer's amulet, Kipperin, Lindorm, Hoplite, and even Springer into the little hiding spot. Will stood his ground for a moment before sighing, pulling Icarus from his neck and putting his hands into his pockets.

"Alright, Loki. We'll do it your way." He placed his amulets away, then pulled a slab of stone across the gap, sealing them away.

Behind them, Zhalia smiled at the trust they put in her, their faith in her, even though she was going to use it to destroy them.

* * *

><p>AN: Okay, so not actual fighting in this one, but its all been set up for an epic showdown!<p> 


	59. Chapter 58 The Vampire Part 3

AN: The end is here.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 58- The Vampire Loses its Fangs Part 3

Dante paused, head tilted to one side as he listened for the noise he thought he had heard to sound again. Silence followed, and he counted to ten before starting to search for the amulet stash once more. Caution- along with skill and experience- was what had made him the best Seeker the Huntik Foundation had to offer. He wasn't about to let some vampire titan get the drop on him for some rookie mistake.

The russet-haired man paused again, sighing. While he was confident in the teens' abilities, and that they would fight till the last ounce of their strength to protect each other, Dante couldn't help but worry about Will and Loki. The pair had a knack for finding to trouble, a penchant for raising cain. If there was ever a monster or a trap, they would find it. He tried to quell his anxious thoughts by reminding himself that they were more than capable of dealing with such things now, but was having little success. He smiled to himself, moving on again. Ah, the wonders of fatherhood. Constant worries that will probably never amount to anything. Probably.

* * *

><p>Hidden somewhere inside the massive castle, Klaus was gathered with his suits, planning his revenge for the humiliation he had suffered at his bookshop. The fact that he would be able to capture the Professor's most wanted at the same time was merely a welcome bonus. "This time, I've got something special." He muttered, not really talking to anyone in particular. "I've made some modifications to Strike Mode." Holding out a hand, he summoned his latest creation. "Over Mode!"<p>

Three blobs of pink-yellow magic sprang from his hand, the three suits in the room looking around for Brahe. However, while the magic was usually directed at Klaus's favoured titan, this time it targeted the three men, burrowing under their skin as they cried out and tried to escape. Their skin bulged as muscles grew at an alarming rate, eyes glowing yellow, with no iris or pupil, the solid-colour eyes of a titan. Clothes tore, no longer able to contain the blue-grey skin that swelled beneath. Teeth protruded from screaming mouths, the fangs of an animal, belonging to a man with the mind of a beast. Grunting and snarling, the three creatures shuffled heavily back towards their master, their minds now dominated by the one who had caused this. Klaus cackled with glee, his experiment a complete success. "I learnt a thing or two from what you collected from me." He explained to his vapid audience, burning with desire to tell someone of his triumph. "You are the beginning of a new era for mankind."

* * *

><p>Down below them, in the caged-in room in the basement, Loki and Will were readying themselves to dash for the stash, eyes steely and focused. "Ready?" Zhalia had her hand on the lever that would raised the portcullis. The blonde nodded once, not taking her eyes off the red-brown bag she could see at the edge of her vision.<p>

"Let's do this."

The bars went up with an almighty screech, Will and Loki ducking beneath them as soon as they were able, running for the pit as fast as they could. Halfway there, the younger teen paused, sharp cyan eyes darting around the room, confusion lurking in their depths. "Where's the trap?"

"Right here!" Loki span around to face the blue-glowing fist at her back, eyes filled with horror and hurt and disappointment as Zhalia unleashed her Augerfrost upon the girl. Stunned, both by the blow and the betrayal, the blonde flew backwards, hitting the wall with a sharp _'crack'_, slumping against it with her head hanging down, knocked out in one cold, calculated move. And through it all, she said not a word, not a cry nor a scream passed her lips as she met the attack with something akin to sad resignation, a weary acceptance that it was happening, and there was nothing she could do.

Will cried out as she soared past him, eyes wide and scared, before hardening to angry, dark slits of emerald green. He turned to look at Zhalia, and his eyes held no mercy. By attacking Loki, after all that the girl had been through for the team, and after all she and Zhalia had been through together, the blue-haired Seeker had crossed a line that the Casterwill would not let go unpunished. By hurting Loki, Zhalia had shattered a part of Will's soul, though a bitter, nasty voice at the back of his mind whispered that he had known it all along. Zhalia Moon was a traitor. She was dangerous. And she was now his enemy.

"You're going to regret that." His voice was as ice, and Zhalia almost froze. She had never seen the boy like this before- it was as if his heart had turned off, leaving only a machine behind, a machine made for one purpose only- to destroy the one that had hurt the one he loved.

Forcing herself to be unshaken by his death-filled eyes, the mocha-orbed woman smirked, a hand on her hip, defiant and unrepentant. "Am I? Farslip!" Will tensed, expecting the attack to come for him, but instead the green light-river streamed the opposite way, smashing into the crank for the portcullis, sending the spike-tipped bars screaming downwards. Cherit, confused and scared, fluttered closer to the pair before yelping and darting out of the way of the falling stakes, trapped beyond the portcullis with Freelancer and the amulets.

"I never trusted you." The emotionless voice almost seemed to come from nowhere, Will's mouth barely moving, his face set in a blank mask, while inside his blood burned with anger, his molten core surrounded by numbing ice. "But I never thought you'd do something like that to Loki."

"I'm full of surprises." Zhalia purred, falling back into her old self, the one that the team hadn't seen since Jodis Lore's tomb, all those months ago. Both she and Will had thrown up walls around their soul, both hiding behind the face of someone else, but who could tell the best lie? Who could sentence the other to death with a smile and a sparkling eye, while inside they were screaming? "So what are you going to do? All your amulets are locked away."

"I'm full of surprises too." Will murmured matter-of-factly. "Attack, Sabriel." The pink-haired warrioress appeared in a flash of rose, the song of steel on steel her battle cry. She stood before her master with sword held ready, the physical embodiment of the rage that William refused to show. "I'm not a fool. I still have every one of my amulets. A simple slight of hand is all it takes to fool a willing mind. You wanted to believe that I would trust you. As if that would ever happen." The teen said tonelessly, eyes dead and voice the same, where once he would have spat the words with spite and bitterness.

Zhalia glared at him, angry that she had been tricked, before smiling wickedly. "Actually, I was hoping we would get to fight one on one, William."

The boy nodded, his only response, before pulling two amulets from his pockets where he had hidden them, glowing blue and green for a double summoning. "Take aim, Feyone, Icarus." The pair appeared at his back, the Greek with wings spread wide, an avenging angel from above, the mountain girl with dual-blade shining, padding in front of her Seeker to stand beside her rapier-wielding sister.

Their blue-haired opponent was quick to respond. "Fight for your lady, Kilthane!" The black knight appeared from the shadows, a chill wind heralding his coming before he stepped into the light.

William tilted his head to one side, considering the woman before him and her titan. "So, you're part of the Organization." He murmured. "It doesn't take a genius to realise it was you behind Loki's attack in Ireland." His eyes flared momentarily, fire burning in their depths, before his mask reasserted itself. "Or that you were the one whispering in Klaus's ear. You've set traps, planned attacks, spied on us and hurt the ones that cared for you. You told our enemies our every move. What I want to know, is why?"

Zhalia laughed, one sharp, harsh note in the tense silence of the basement. "Life is about power, and the Organization is about getting power. That's why we will always dominate."

The room fell quiet for a moment.

"Life is not about getting power, Zhalia Moon." The Casterwill broke the silence with his dispassionate words. "Its about how you choose to use it."

A flash of a smile quirked up one corner of his opponent's mouth. "Then let's put it to use. Attack!"

The titans leapt for each other, swords singing, shields clashing, strength smashing against each other. "Sabriel," Will called to his titan as she fended off Kilthane's blade. "Defense only. Feyone, Icarus, attack." Sabriel fell back at his command, Feyone and Icarus focusing their powers on landing a hit.

Behind the Casterwill, the wall suddenly shimmered, Gareon soundlessly appearing in a wavering of air. His eyes glowed his vicious intent, a shimmering beam shooting from them to crash against Will's Honourguard, conjured with a raised hand, its owner not even turning around to face the lizard creature. "Nice try, Zhalia." His eyes moved to meet her own. "But I've watched you fight many different opponents. I've seen your moves, your patterns. And I've learnt them. I won't give you a chance to try another trick."

Unseen by them all, Loki stirred, rubbing her head with a hand as she supported herself with the other. The lights of battle, unmissable and obvious, held her horrified gaze as two of her greatest and only friends fought each other, both unyielding, both deadly.

Will, with a silent command to his titans, leapt forwards, his violent actions a stark contrast to his emotionless expression. "Doublespell. Raypulse."

"What? No!" Zhalia span, trying to turn quick enough to block his attack, eyes wide and scared, her mask close to breaking.

Loki cried out as the twin beams of fire leapt for Zhalia. "Will, don't hurt her!" Even though a small part of her at the back of her mind thought it was stupid to protect your enemy, the rest of her couldn't, not even after what she had done, even start to think of the blue-haired Seeker that way. Will, stunned, paused for a moment, mask shattering, glancing over at the blonde as if to check that she was actually there. It was all Zhalia needed to dart away, the brunette's attack scorching the ground a mere centimeter away from her.

"William." Her voice came from the shadows, but emerald eyes could not find her within them. "You've missed your one chance." Suddenly, he found her shape in the darkness.

"I think not." He quickly raised a hand, not wanting to miss again. "Boltflare!" The globe of light passed straight through the image he cast it at, revealing it to be another of his opponent's traps. Cursing, he span to find her behind him, just as Loki had done, a power-cupping hand too close for him to do anything about.

"Sorry, kid." Zhalia smirked. "But that was an illusion created by my Thoughtspectre power!" She lunged for him, her Augerfrost catching him in the chest as he tried to dart away, sending him skidding across the floor. Both teens cried out, Will in pain, and Loki in fear, as he stopped precariously close to the edge of the pit.

The blonde, swaying dangerously and leaning on the wall as she forced herself to her feet, felt helpless tears prick at the corners of her eyes. "I have to stop them, but, I don't have my titans. I'm too weak." She cast her mind for a solution but, for the first time in her life, she couldn't think of a single answer.

Meanwhile, Zhalia was stalking over to wear Will was struggling to get to his feet, shirt torn and ragged, the skin beneath battered and bruised. "Mindsight!" It was a soft whisper that neither teen heard, a gentle glow of blue around the woman's head that spread too quick for eyes to follow to cover Will's, before disappearing. As she neared, the Casterwill managed to stand, shoulders bowed for a second before he made them straighten, readying himself for another fight. While she hated that he was so enduring, Zhalia couldn't help but admire his strength and determination. Not many others would get up again after taking a hit from one of her Augerfrosts.

Will lashed out a leg, whip-like in its speed, but Zhalia stepped aside easily, pushing the blow away. She smirked at him. "I can see your every move." She taunted him, before glowing a deep black-purple. "Shadowspeed!" Using the dark equivalent of Nimblefire, she sent him flying under a punishing combo of punches and kicks, able to side-step even his strongest defense, seeing it before he had even thought of it.

In a few seconds, it was over, the emerald-eyed boy lying sprawled on the stone floor, out cold. His opponent smiled, a sickly green glow covering her hands. "Now," She murmured. "To put you out of _my _misery."

"Zhalia! No!" Loki used the last of her strength to throw herself between them, just as Zhalia leapt forwards to attack the unconscious Casterwill. Panting and shaking with exhaustion, the blonde stared up at the unrecognisable eyes of her once-teammate, barely holding in the raging power that fought to free itself, her skin shimmering blue-grey. "Don't do this." She whispered. "Don't be what they want you to be. Please."

Before she could say anymore, a harsh, angry cry burst from Zhalia's lips, and her fist came down.

* * *

><p>Upstairs again, Dante was musing to himself as he riffled through the drawers of a chest at one side of the tower room he was in. Deciding that the amulets weren't in the chest, he stepped back to looked around the room again, considering where to search next."The only place I haven't checked yet is..." His eyes landed on the tapestry hung on one wall, and he reached out to pull it down.<p>

As the dusty folds fell to the floor, a hulking, blue-skinned monster stood tall from its hiding place behind the weaving. Dante grinned, not cowed by his opponent's sudden growth. "Whoa." He smirked. "Did you get ugly!" The once-human swung a hammer-like fist, but the auburn darted away, leaving the wall to get smashed instead of himself. A Bonelasher appeared in the doorway he ran to, so he leapt, monkey-like, out of the window instead, landing on a nearby spire. A pure-white beam from an Enforcer nearly separated the point from the rest of the building, and Dante clung on as it rocked back and forth, scanning the area, and realising he was surrounded. Monsters that were once men, and monsters that were never anything close lined the rooftops and filled the windows. He counted three mutant-suits, an Enforcer, a Bonelasher, and the worst abomination of all, Klaus. The ancient man grinned with rotten teeth, thinking victory in his grasp.

"You're like a little lab rat, in my maze."

The russet-haired Huntik operative just kept grinning. "Klaus, your experiment is about to yield some unexpected results." He pulled an amulet from one of his numerous pockets, calling his name as he glowed a vibrant blue. "Caliban!" The Aztec appeared beside his Seeker instantly, soon followed by a brother as Dante glowed again, this time turquoise. "Solwing!" The helmet-wearing bird appeared from the light of the sun, the harsh light making his collar glint and gleam. His Seeker's golden eyes searched for Klaus's red-brown ones, and he smirked. "Thing with variables, Klaus, is that we tend to vary."

Klaus, scowling, waved a hand towards the enemy. "Attack, everyone!" The guttural voices of the mutants filled the air, and Dante had no choice but to leap from the spire as the Raypulses that they sent his way severed it from the tower. Shooting an Augerfrost towards the giants, he was troubled to see that it barely did anything against them, the man he hit going down for a mere second before getting to his feet. Behind him, Solwing grabbed one suit's wrist, sending his Raypulse spiraling off into space instead of into Dante's unprotected back. Caliban, leaping from a tower, grabbed the Enforcer from the air, dragging them both down to the roof where he could attack it properly. Dante cast a quick Nimblefire to dart up the wall of a tower, resting on the roof for a brief respite before a suit's Augerfrost forced him to drop back down to the roof, where he leant against the wall, breathless from his quickfire use of spells. Arms crashed their way through the wall as the Bonelasher sought its prey, and Dante leapt away again.

Klaus, watching from on high, stretched out a hand like a vengeful god. "Poisonfang!" The stream of bright green acid shot across the distance between him and Dante, but was met by a hastily cast Armorbrand.

Seeing the Bonelasher getting too close again, Dante summoned another fighter to help. "Quickly, Freelancer!" The blue-armored titan, a cousin to Loki's own, leapt forwards to help Caliban pin down the struggling swamp monster. Narrowing his eyes, and not to be outdone, Klaus pulled out another amulet.

"Envelop, Nighlurker!" The cloak-like mummy disappeared into the shadows, reappearing at Dante's back, and the man leapt away into a patch of sunshine where he couldn't be ambushed. Unfortunately, he didn't see the ambush lying in wait till it was too late.

"Poisonfang!" This time, Klaus's attack hit its mark, and Dante fell forwards onto the roof. The suits and titans moved forwards to surround him, and Caliban made to attack. Seeing it was hopeless, and wanting to spare his friend and unnecessary pain, the auburn cast out a hand.

"Wait! Caliban, don't!" The warrior stood down, holding his weapon unthreateningly in surrender. Klaus cackled, appearing on the roof from his tower-top vantage point.

"I see your no fool, Vale." He stepped closer, the shadows on the wall behind him twisting and turning. "You'll make an excellent specimen. That is, for my lab."

Proud even in defeat, Dante refused to let Klaus see how badly his magic had hurt. "So, now what?" He spat defiantly. "Are you going to finish me off?"

"No." The answer startled Dante, and he looked over at Klaus in surprise. The shadows churned as a figure appeared from within them, a woman with blue hair, and cold dead eyes, someone once familiar, but now once more a stranger. "She is." Zhalia Moon padded forth from the darkness, and the auburn felt his heart shatter. Questions flooded his mind, disappearing just as quickly as he realised he didn't care about the answers. The love of his life was about to kill him. Suddenly, answers didn't seem so important.

Klaus turned to his granddaughter, holding out his hand for the bag of amulets she carried. "Did you take care of the children?" Dante froze. At the back of his mind, some foolish part of him had hoped that the teens would be able to run. That hope died as he saw the cold expression on Zhalia's face.

She bowed her head in a nod. "Yes, Grandfather." Her voice held no trace of the woman he had once laughed with, smiled with, spent his life with and given his heart to. The Huntik Seeker felt the pieces of his broken heart turn to dust as he realised that he could not get her back. He had spent long enough with the real Zhalia Moon, though she had tried to hide herself, to know that she valued family and blood above all else. While her relation to Klaus explained so much, it did nothing to ease his mind.

Klaus grinned at the despair in Dante's amber orbs. "Good. Now, give Vale all you've got."

She stepped forwards, green light gathering around her hands as she prepared to end it all. She stared down at the eyes of the man she had once loved- _still loved, a part of her said_- and found that her heart broke to see within the golden depths that he was scared, scared for the others, scared to die, but most of all, he was scared of who she had become.

"Zhalia," His voice was a gentle whisper on the still air. "What have you _done?_"

* * *

><p><em>Her mind was drawn unwillingly back to her past, those same words passing the lips of the one who loved her. Unlike Dante, who held no anger in his voice, only resignation to the end, and endless pity and sadness for how the end had come, this voice was angry, snarling. This voice was Klaus, back in her days as just an ordinary suit.<em>

_"Zhalia! What have you done, you fool? I told you to take care of the urchins!"_

_Zhalia bowed her head, confused and at war with herself. She had done the right thing, hadn't she? "But...they're just street kids!"_

_"They are witnesses!" Klaus growled at her. "Erase their memories or I'll erase _them_! Understood?" What could she do but nod her head? But as he walked away, and she turned to follow his instructions, and uneasy guilt settled in her stomach. _

_"But," She whispered, even though there was no one there to hear. "They're no different than me..."_

* * *

><p>Zhalia pushed the memory away, lifting her hands above her head, the glow around them strengthening in preparation for an attack. She saw Dante flinch away, saw his sad eyes gazing up at her, filled with fear and heart-ache and sorrow. She saw the eyes of a man who had given his everything to her, and was now facing, not only the end of them, but the end of all things. "Zhalia..." It was all he said, lips falling silent, eyes falling to the floor, unable to see his death come from her hands.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Again, memories pulled her away.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Dante smiled at her, eyes warm. "Despite what Will says, I know that at the end of the day, I can trust you." He turned and walked away, and she watched him go, eyes wide, heart unused to such kindness. He would become much, much more than a kind stranger. A friend, a protector, a shoulder to cry on, someone to comfort and protect, someone who gave her a purpose in life. Her soulmate. There was no other name for him.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Loki laughing, eyes shining, bright and happy and good. "I know your a really good person, no matter how you act." A shy smile, and she looked away. "I couldn't have got this far without you." Another bright smile invited her to join in, her thanks clear in the happiness it brought her to have Zhalia away. A sister through bond, not blood, but stronger because of it. She brought sunshine to the darkened corners of her heart, ones she thought had withered away and died.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Zhalia stood hesitantly in the doorway, unsure as to whether or not she should enter, watching the boy trying to hide his sadness from her. "How you holding up?" She murmured quietly, feeling torn at the mere thought of asking. The brunette gave a bitter laugh.<em>

_"Do you want the truth, or the people-friendly version?" She sat next to him, a piece of her honoured that he was letting her in, Will, the most solitary, secretive person she ever knew, except for herself. He needed someone who understood what it was like to lose everything, then to think you'd got it back before it crumbled in front of them. Her little brother, when he let himself let go. _

* * *

><p><em>Blood meant very little to them. Each of them had lost their family. Each of them had made another.<em>

_Dante, who kept the secret of his past close to his chest, saying nothing of his true family, and very little of the one he had made with Metz. He was Strength, Protection, and Justice. A fierce lion. _

_Loki, whose place in the team stemmed from her love of her family, and her need to find her father, and yet had been let down by the others who she was meant to rely on. She was Bravery, Kindness, and Cunning. A curious fox._

_Will, the last survivor of a family hunted to extinction, left with a weight no child should have to carry, pushed to succeed, not because he wanted to, but because it was what the world wanted. He was Wisdom, Secrecy, and Independence. A solitary cat._

_And at last, she, the lone wolf, had found her pack._

_Her family._

* * *

><p>"No!" Her fist slammed into the tiles of the roof, the power shattering them and sending a few shards skittering over the edge. "Raypulse, Augerfrost!" Casting the spells in quick succession, she blasted back the mutated suits that made to attack.<p>

Dante grinned up at her, though she didn't see his smile, before he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "Now's my chance! Everfight!" The fiery healing power lifted him back to his feet, returning his strength to him. Caliban, instantly aware that they were back in play, swung his sword in a wide arc, slicing through the Bonelasher. Klaus stared at her granddaughter as she stood beside the enemy, and snarled.

"Nein!" He glared at the scene before him. "This can't be happening!" He pulled out his last amulet. "Brahe!" The hippo-faced titan landed on the roof with a mighty crash.

Zhalia turned to Dante, her eyes filled with conflict. "I...I've made my choice, Dante. But, I can't fight him." She looked away. "Even after all of this, he's still my grandfather."

The auburn placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she looked up, surprised. "I understand." He murmured in a quiet voice. "I'll deal with him. You clean up the rest." Before she could say anything, or even make to thank him, he had leapt away to face Klaus.

Klaus snarled at Dante, eyes shifting back and forth between him and Zhalia, as if some part of his mind still couldn't work out why or how she had chosen him over her. "I still have the advantage!"

Dante shook his head, raising a hand. "You have nothing." His eyes snapped open, glowing purple. "Not even the ground underneath your feet! Metagolem!" The roof creaked under the strain of the kingly rock-giant as he stepped forth from his amulet. Leaping for Brahe, the two collosi struggled briefly before the roof gave way, sending them falling down out of sight, still wrapped in a wrestler's embrace.

Both out of titans, the two men lunge forwards, ready to end it themselves.

"Dragonfist!"

"Venomhand!"

Red and green mixed and met in the air, each one trying to push past the other to attack. Dante and Klaus struggled against one another just as their titans had done, till Klaus threw dust raised from the fighting into Dante's golden eyes, and he stepped back, slipping on a loose tile. He slid down the roof, barely able to grab hold before he went over the edge. The old scientist smirked, eyes aglow with vicious glee. "Fate has handed me the victory. Farewell!"

"Raypulse!"

The power slammed into his back, sending him sprawling. Zhalia, finished with the mutant suits and their titans, lowered her hands from where they had shot the power. "Looks like I can't avoid fighting you after all...Klaus." The aged man knew that with that one word, the first time she had ever called him by his name, Zhalia was breaking her ties to him. He was her Grandfather no longer.

"Stupid girl." He hissed. "You think you're so strong, but really your nothing but a weak little girl. Who do you think told the suits to test _my _experiments on you, huh? Who do you think planned to find you at the cemetery?" He struggled to his feet as she stared on in horror, just beginning to piece together the truth of her life. "Who was the one that took you in, who needed a test subject?" His smile grew, manic and twisted, his mind shattered by the knowledge that he would not survive this day, something deep inside his black, twisted heart wanting acknowledgement for his manipulation of her, his skill in lies and deceit. "And who," He said into the silence. "Who do you think made sure you would come to me? Test subjects are so hard to come by these days- I needed flesh, I needed meat." His eyes shone with pride as he remembered his greatest triumph. "So I killed two birds with one stone- or should I say three?" He giggled madly, lips twitching. "Silly girl! You really think that your parents, great, _traitorous_ Huntik Seekers that they were, could be killed by a _car accident?_" He laughed now, head thrown back, no longer caring if he lived or died. His work was told, finally, his great masterpiece unveiled. "You thought they were so strong, my dear, but you should of heard them _scream!_"

Zhalia felt her heart turn to stone. "All these years," She murmured, her voice as toneless and dead as Will's had been earlier. "I felt like nothing, no matter how much power I had. And it was because of you." Her eyes shone green. "And because of the lies!" She lifted the amulet above her head. "I'm sorry I wasted my life on you. King Basilisk!"

His cry would haunt her forever.

The ancient, time-weathered man that went to his death, not screaming, but laughing at the pain and destruction he had caused.

* * *

><p><em>Venice, Italy<em>.

"I'm just glad that Zhalia didn't hurt you two!" Cherit croaked, folding his arms under his chin as he lay on the sofa. Dante nodded, settling back in his armchair whilst Loki and Will sat together next to Cherit. The blonde nodded slowly, her eyes falling upon the bag, its string glowing with magic, that lay on the table before her.

* * *

><p><em>"Don't do this." Loki whispered. "Don't be what they want you to be. Please." She could feel her strength draining away even as she crouched there, most of it tied up keeping her powers contained, her skin flickering with blue-grey mist. <em>

_Zhalia stared down at the blonde, and time seemed to halt as her eyes fell upon her shirt. The once-white material was now a deep crimson in a circle over her side, the dark blue shirt underneath the same. Looking down at her hands, she saw that one palm was coated in the same sticky liquid. Blood. Crying out, she slammed her fist into the ground beside the teens, the Venomhand power flowing away into the ground. Loki, unable to stay conscious any longer, fainted, falling back against Will. Zhalia quickly checked her pulse, part of her because Klaus had told her to capture her alive, but mostly because Loki was her friend. She couldn't kill her. Incase either of them woke up, she tied them up, then left with the amulet bag in her hand._

_It was there that Dante found them about an hour later, Zhalia having disappeared after turning Klaus to stone. Seeing that state of the teens, he went to help, but found that someone had beaten him to it, and that someone had bandaged Loki's side with a long, green scarf._

* * *

><p>Loki shrugged. "I guess she couldn't bring herself to do it after witnessing my major stupidity." She laughed. Will squeezed her hand.<p>

"Jumping between us was bravery, not stupidity."

The blonde smiled gently. "I'd say it was a bit of both." She sighed, touching her bandaged side. "I just hope she knew that it wasn't her that did this." Answering Dante's questioning stare, she added. "It was Antediluvian. We had a run in with him earlier."

The russet-haired man nodded. "Don't forget, Loki, it played a part in bringing Zhalia back to her senses."

"Its weird..." Will began, his voice holding a hint of confusion. "But, now that I know everything Zhalia went through..." He trailed off before sighing. "I kinda want to forgive her."

Cherit nodded, his eyes sad. "Aye, her life was a hard one at that."

"She wasn't given much of a choice." Loki murmured. "But in the end, she came through for us. I'll never forget that."

"Thank you." Came a quiet voice, and the team turned to see Zhalia standing in the shadows by the front door. "It means a lot. A...And I'm glad I didn't hurt you, Loki." The blonde smiled softly.

"It was just me being accident-prone as usual."

Zhalia's eyes softened for a moment, before she looked away, ashamed that she had allowed herself to even considered hurting these people. "I've come to say goodbye."

Cherit frowned, confused. "You know, you don't have to do that."

Will nodded, giving her one of her first smiles from him. "You heard us all. We all forgive you- in fact, there's nothing to forgive."

The blue-haired woman wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. "But...I can't forgive myself..."

Dante nodded, meeting her eyes and holding them. "It's alright." His voice was soft, but in the silence of the room, she could hear him perfectly. "We understand." His eyes said more, told her that he knew she would come back when she was ready, and that he would be here, waiting. But they also said he would be sad to see her leave, and that he wanted her to stay. She looked away, knowing that if she spent anymore time here, her will would crumble before the kindness of her team.

"See you."

Her image wavered, and she disappeared.

Loki sighed, missing her teammate already, and she knew that the others were the same. Seeing the sadness in Dante's eyes, she placed a gentle hand on his knee. "Cheer up. Whatever she says, Zhalia's still a part of our team. She'll come back, I know it."

Zhalia, merely made intangible by her Thoughtspectre power, paused by the wall she was about to walk through, and smiled.

This was her family. The lone wolf's pack.

She would return.

* * *

><p>AN: Excuse me, just got a little something in my eye. *starts brawling eyes out at thought of no Zhalia in next chapterepisode*


	60. Chapter 59 Memory Lane

AN: *Sniffle* I miss Zhalia...

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 59- Memory Lane Part 1

_A barren landscape, born of fire and stone, a hell on earth. Mountains rose like accusing fingers to the desolate beauty of the crimson sky, weathered by time and heat and wind, and through it all, a creature crawled, shoulders bowed and weighed down with fear. Its white fur bathed orange by the light of the flames surrounding it, it crept onwards to the calling voice that echoed cross the land. Finally, the smoke and mist cleared, a figure rising above it all at the peak of the highest, jagged pinacle, ancient with age and wisdom, his hair and flowing beard marked white by Time's hand, cloths rich but worn, his eyes the same. A glowing staff in one hand, and shining orb of light in the other, he cried out words in a language long forgotten._

_"Sen! Tan! Ghon!"_

_The words rumbled in the sky as thunder, and shook the ground as a ripple of unimaginable power flowed from that mighty peak._

_"Cherit!"_

"Cherit!"

"_Cherit!_"Cherit!"

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><p>The mini titan jolted awake with a soft cry of alarm. Concerned blue eyes, as blue as the light from his almost-dream, gazed down at him. "Wake up, dude." Loki tilted her head to one side, worried. "I've been trying to talk to you for almost five minutes! You zonked out- I thought you said you didn't sleep!"<p>

Cherit looked around the room, dazed. There was Will, lounging on the sofa reading an old tome of some kind, and Loki on the armchair across from him with a forgotten puzzle of some sort dangling limply from her hands, her mind now elsewhere, just as they had been a few minutes ago. The white creature sighed, shaking his head, ears flopping around madly as he did so. "That I did." He said at last, sounding just as confused as Loki. "I must have been daydreaming."

"Really?" Cherit nodded after a moment.

"It was so _vivid _- it felt more like a memory."

The blonde leaned forwards excitedly, resting her elbows on her thighs and her chin on her hands. "As in, something that actually happened? How long ago?"

"Not sure." The titan muttered despondently. Loki giggled.

"Centuries? Millennium? You're really _really _old, right?"

Cherit gave her a pitiful look, stooping his back over and miming walking with a stick. "Its so hard being old. I hope I don't start losing my hair."

The teen smiled before picking up the book on the table again. "Alright, Grandpa, check this out if your eyes are up to it. I was looking through my father's journal again."

"Obsessively." Will called, before instantly going back to his book. Loki stuck her tongue out at him, flicking through the ruined pages to find the one she was looking for. Cherit stuck out his hand, eyes lighting up from his place on her shoulder.

"Look! That's the puzzle you found in Egypt!" The girl smirked at him.

"I know! That's why I asked you to come look!" After a moment, she sighed, slumping in her chair. "If only the journal wasn't ruined... I'm positive that the key to finding the Ancient Amulet of Will was right here..."

Cherit patted her head soothingly, trying to cheer his human friend up. "Sad as it is, it's the best we can do with the journal as it is."

A sharp beeping startled them all, a mechanical voice bleating from the videophone/TV that dominated one wall of the lounge. "Incoming transmission from the Foundation."

Dante appeared at the door, padding through the room, hair slightly more ruffled than usual, clothes slightly askew. Loki frowned. Her mentor and friend was taking Zhalia's absence harder than he'd like to admit, even to himself. "Must be from Guggenheim." The auburn smiled crookedly at his students, then picked up the remote and entered the code to allow the transmission through his firewall. The well-known, trusted face of their friendly Swiss Huntik Councilman flashed onto the screen, his usual smile replaced by a worried frown.

"We have an emergency, team." They sat forwards, instantly alert. "After that unfortunate business with Zhalia," Everyone pretended, for the sake of his pride, not to see Dante wince at her name. "The Organization obviously knows more than we thought."

"I'll say." Will muttered, his usual bitterness towards the older, blue-haired Seeker having gone along with the mystery of her past. Dante shot the boy a look, trying to figure out whether he was being snarky or not and, deciding he was genuinely upset, turned back to the screen.

"So," He folded his arms, gold eyes narrowed. "What's our next move?"

Guggenheim nodded seriously. "We must assume they also know about Lancelot's Mausoleum, and the artifacts he left there from his quest for the _Sanct Grael_."

Loki's sharp gasp drew the group's eyes to her. She looked up at Guggenheim with wide, shining eyes. "As in, the Holy Grail, the Chalice of Mary Magdalen, the Cup of Christ? Does it truly exist?" The man, surprised, was silent for a moment.

"I...did not know you were so religious, Miss Lambert." She smiled wickedly.

"I'm not, but its one of the world's greatest mysteries."

The blonds smiled at each other. "That explains your interest." Guggenheim rumbled, laughing softly, and the girl nodded eagerly. Will shifted, a look that was half way between hope and suspicion lingering on his face even as he tried to wipe it off. After a questioning look from Loki, he sighed.

"There is supposedly a connection between Lancelot and my family, but my research into the subject has come to nothing."

Dante shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not, but there will be a connection between his treasure and the Organization if we don't move it to a safe house, quickly."

Guggenheim smiled at his old friend. "Goodo! Since we're in agreement, here's the mission." Pulling out his holotome, Dante opened it to the new files, and the screen turned to a hologram of Paris. "First of all, shuffle on over to Notre Dame in Paris, as fast as you can."

The holotome took over the explanation. "Mission: The Mausoleum of Sir Lancelot. Find the Mausoleum of Sir Lancelot, and retrieve its treasures."

After a fond, but quick farewell to their Huntik friend, the team ran to pack before heading for the airport, identical, excited smiles on every face.

* * *

><p><em>The Professor's Castle, Outside Prague, Czech Republic<em>

Dark, sunken eyes, nearly lost in the folds of fat that made up the face, glared out of their shadowed holes, gazing across the peaceful countryside below. The Professor growled, as did the dog at his side, who happily chewing a ball decorated to look like the world he would one day conquer. It hurt his pride, and tried his already worn patience to think that the very object that would allow him to dominate the planet had been in the city on the horizon not a few weeks before. Though he had never had the pleasure of meeting Miss Lambert, he could picture her clearly in his mind, though it was not an image of her physical form. His sole working eye shone as he remembered the being of immense power and magical energy that had confronted him both times he had entered the young Seeker's mind. It was this almost divine power that he wanted, _needed. _And now, with his plan so close to fruition, she had escaped him once again, with help from that blasted Foundation hotshot Dante Vale, the annoying Casterwill brat, and now his once deadly widow spider, Zhalia Moon. The old man snarled again. He had told Klaus that the woman would one day learn the truth of her parents, but the scientist had not listened, too focused on his experiment into the world of manipulation. Now he had been missing for some time, and no contact had been made with him or his team. The Professor gave a mental shrug. So he had lost a pawn.

That pawn had still gotten to the end of the board. Now, he could regain his queen.

"Look, Rassimov," He kept his unwavering gaze on the idyllic landscape, not turning to face the corpse-like man at his back. "The whole city is stretched out before me, every last citizen under _my _thumb. And soon," He smirked- his version of a smile, that semblance of happiness never quite able to form on his haggard face. "The whole world will be under _my _control."

A moment's uncomfortable silence followed before Rassimov spoke. "Our spies and researchers have been busy locating hidden titans all over the world." The long-haired suit beside him opened the lid of the Technonomican he was carrying, an image slowly forming in the murky green depths of its light. It was a winged knight, its twin swords burning with a holy flame that glinted off its plate armour, casting a aura of light around the titan. "Including in the Mausoleum of Sir Lancelot."

At last the Professor turned to face his minion. "Excellent." He hissed, his voice oozing over the syllables like poisoned honey. "Good. But Klaus never returned from his mission to Romania, and my best men have failed against the Huntik Foundation once again! The Lambert child still remains beyond my grasp, and with her, world domination!"

A soft pattered caught the gathered men's attention as the dogs chew-toy Earth rolled between the old man's legs. The dog, a bull terrier by breed, stayed still even as his favourite toy escaped him, a thing trained into him after long years of mastership. Rassimov glanced down at the tiny planet with a dark smile, before picking it up and holding it in his gloved fingers. "There will be no failure." All those that heard his death-cold voice found they could not doubt him. "I will see to this, personally." He allowed the ball to roll into the palm of his hand, where a purple-black vortex swirled into existence...and obliterated the earth in its path, sucking it down into darkness, where it vanished without a trace, lost forever. And only one lonely dog mourned its passing.

* * *

><p><em>Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France<em>

"Peter!" Loki cheered as she ran ahead of the team to their old friend, eyes shining. "_You're _the operative who was sent to meet us?" The boy nodded shyly, adjusting his glasses as Will and Dante drew near.

"The high-ups said my past experience with Dante and his methods made me the best for the job, and, " He added with a hint of pride, "I'm the top researcher here now. Got promoted after finally getting some field experience not long after you left." The blonde beamed at him.

"Wow! Congratulations!"

Peter nodded his head to the others as they finally caught up to the hyper-active girl. "Hi guys."

Will gave a wry smile. "How's the ankle?"

"All healed." The boy's rueful grin took them all back to the beginning of their adventures together. "Come inside," He turned, waving over his shoulder for them to follow. "We've got a lot to talk about."

The team settled in a corner of the grand church, apart from the usual flow of tourists. After a moment, Dante wandered off to the side, his eyes darting through the crowd. Loki let him go. Ever since She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had left, the auburn had been spending more time apart from the teens. The blonde knew it was because he needed space out of their hyper-active energy to stop and think about her and miss her. "It's been ages since we saw you, Peter." The girl said after a moment of watching the man, laughing. "Almost another lifetime! What've you been up to?"

He shrugged again, suddenly shy when faced with the full attention of his crush. "I'll tell you later- first, tell me what you've been doing!" A shadow flickered across his face. "I've heard all sorts of terrible rumours abut curses and imprisonment and," He shuddered. "The Blood Spiral..."

The blonde smiled stretching her arms over her head. "All true."

"Whaaaaa?" Peter stared at her, open mouthed, and she giggled before ticking each rumour off on one of her fingers.

"One, I got cursed in Ireland, still am cursed in fact. Shows up as markings around my neck which range from dull to bright blue or silver when the curse is in effect." She moved her collar aside before hiding the markings again. Peter was still just staring at her, in awe of her courage in the face of such odds, and more than a little worried at how well she was dealing with this, and the amount of trouble she had managed to get into. "Two, I ran off after waking up from the cursing because," She narrowed her cyan eyes at Will, "It was the right thing to do at the time, and I got picked up by, number three, The Blood Spiral." She gave the stunned boy a mega-watt smile. "That about sort it?"

"Uh...yeah...kinda..."

Loki sighed, shrugging. "Its a bit much, but hey, it happened, whatcha gonna do?"

Will folded his arms. "Lock you up somewhere safe?"

She grinned at him mischievously. "I'd just bust out."

They stared each other down for a while before emerald eyes looked down and away. The Casterwill sighed before turning miserably to Peter. "The sad thing is, she's right too. So, your turn, what've you been doing whilst we've been gallivanting around the world trying to stop Loki from getting herself killed?"

The others laughed as the blonde pouted, turning away with a 'humf' and a half-hearted glare. The researcher shrugged, gesturing to the building around them.

"I'm still working for the Foundation. I've mainly been researching Lancelot, and his connections to the modern Seeker world of today," He nodded his head to Will. "The Casterwills especially." The noble teen perked up immediately.

"So there _is _a link between Lancelot and my family!"

Peter nodded, eyes lighting up with a light not unlike the one in Loki's eyes as she solved a puzzle. "I actually followed a lot of your research on the subject! And its more than just a connection- according to my research, he was actually the head of one of their main branch families."

Dante's voice stilled them. "Let's go team." He looked over from the window where he was standing, eyes dark with worry. "The Organization's tracking us." As opposed to the last time they had been at Notre Dame, a mention of Organization trackers didn't phase the group, and they set off after their leader and mentor as he led them further into the deserted areas of the church.

* * *

><p>Outside, watching the window where Dante had disappeared, a suit in a car muttered into a phone. "Yes sir, I'm sure its them. They have been in the Cathedral for some time. Yes, the boy is with them. Yes sir. Of course sir. Understood."<p>

* * *

><p>Peter sighed, fidgeting slightly, and looking around anxiously. "You'd better hurry." He warned them quietly. "The Organization's been all over Paris for the past week or so."<p>

Dante nodded, glad for the information, before pulling out his holotome and opening the pre-scanned map of Paris. "Then we'll split up." A red arrow wound through the streets from Notre Dame. "Will, there's a Foundation museum in the northern suburbs. It'll have any Casterwill records dug up in the area. Take Cherit and find out what you can." The titan gave the boy a thumbs up from his place in the air beside Loki. Dante touched the image before them, and a second arrow appeared. "Loki, you and I will go to the Mausoleum of Sir Lancelot, and try to find his hidden sanctuary." The blonde nodded, grinning, and everyone pretended not to notice the sadness in Dante's eyes. After all, it was only the four of them now...

* * *

><p>AN: This really was more of a scene setter really...Sorry about the lack of stuff-ness.<p> 


	61. Chapter 60 Memory Lane Part 2

AN: Sorry it's been so long! I've spent the break between chapters revising for a ton of exams, and actually taking the time to watch the second season. For a while, whilst writing this, I was worried that my changes, past and future, would mean that I wouldn't be able to carry on. Never you fear, readers, I am planning a second 'book'. For now, though, enjoy! I always thought this was a bit of a filler episode, so I've done my best.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 60- Memory Lane Part 2

Ten minutes later saw Will, with Cherit safely hidden in his bag, padding silently down the streets of Paris. He sighed, something nagging at the back of his mind that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Paris was almost... familiar to him. And not from their last trip _under_ the city. This knowledge seemed older somehow, more certain than a single visit. Without the need of a Holotome, Cipherdex, or even a map, he walked with confidence in the direction of the museum Dante had sent him to.

These puzzling thoughts toying with his attention, not to mention the lingering ones about his family and Lancelot, the painful hope that he would finally learn some of the secrets that seemed forever lost from him, it took the Casterwill a moment to realise that there was a black sedan slowly tailing him, keeping just that bit too far back for him to make out faces or number plates. Will smirked. Not like he needed to see who was driving anyway. Their behaviour made it more than clear who they were and what they were doing. Did they really believe that he was so stupid as to not see? That he would lead them to the Mausoleum, the Huntik Foundation museum or safe house?

Suits. They were all idiots.

Murmuring a quiet warning to Cherit that things were about to get interesting, Will turned off the main road into a dead end alleyway. To his surprise, it wasn't suits that followed him, but the car! Facing the now blocked exit, the emerald-eyed lad allowed himself a smile. Time for some fun.

He ran headlong towards the car now speeding towards him, and with a swift Hyperstride, flipped right over it. He paused, balanced on his feet, and straightened his immaculate clothes with a smirk, as if the whole affair had been no more than a stroll in the park. Behind him, he heard the screams of the suits and the crash of the car smashing into the wall, unable to slow in time, as he stepped back out into the sunlight. He tilted his face upwards to the warmth, still grinning.

"I am a member of the Casterwill family." The boy said to the silent, empty street, his voice calm, quiet and sure. "It goes without saying that I can manage something as trivial as that." He shook his head, amused at the complete stupidity of his enemies, then carried on as if nothing had happened. Sitting quietly in his bag, Cherit couldn't help but laugh. The Organization would never learn. Didn't they know the Casterwills were famous for a reason?

* * *

><p>On the opposite side of the city, Loki also found herself walking into a dead end alleyway. Whistling a soft tune, the picture of innocence and happy traveling, she stopped, frozen, when a voice she didn't recognise rang out behind her. "You get lost, girl?" She whirled on one heel, hair snapping out behind her in a golden fan, eyes and mouth wide.<p>

A trio of them stood at the mouth of the side-street, a blond man, an older dark-haired male, and a redheaded woman with a bob. All three held Augerfrosts, ready charged, in the palms of their hands. All three wore smirks, confident and smug, as the blonde girl stared at them in horror.

Then, suddenly, the fear disappeared, and she gave a vicious smile. A voice came from above, a figure falling to stand behind the suits at the alleyway entrance. "No," Dante grinned, standing from his crouched landing. "Actually, we were just looking for you."

Loki sniggered. The plan had worked perfectly! Though, she thought with a rueful laugh, Will wouldn't have liked the part where she played bait.

"It's Dante Vale!" One suit gasped, eyes widening behind his shades. "Quick! Get him!" He lunged forwards, but was met with a foot to the chest, and went flying. His fellows, scared now, realising they had walked into a trap, backed towards each other, but there was no escape.

Loki darted forwards, her sharp eyes spotting a few cardboard boxes stacked by the wall, and grinned. "Hyperstride!" Blue light coating her legs, she leapt to the top of the remarkably tall tower, then toppled it onto a suit before jumping away again. As it turned out, some of those boxes had some rather heavy stuff in them. The suit went down, for now.

His companion, the redhead, quickly pulled out an amulet before the Huntik pair had a chance to stop her. "Jokul!" The blue-haired titan appeared in a flash of purple-red light, roaring and grinning, reaching for Dante and his student with claws of stone. Both taking a step back out of reach, as one the pair lifted an amulet to the sky.

_**"March, Freelancer!"**_

The two paused, pleasantly surprised, then grinned at each other, as their identical titans appeared in similar flashes of blue light. Great minds think alike, after all. The two Freelancers looked each other up and down, getting to know each other before charging the suits that were now climbing back to their feet and, with a little smile, Loki realised that this was the first time she and Dante had both invoked their shared titan. She soon saw why- although they worked in perfect harmony and were a very capable team, now they were battling, the blonde couldn't tell which one was her Freelancer and which was Dante's! She sighed, shaking her head and sharing a rueful grin with her mentor.

A voice behind the shield-wall of their titans stopped that smile. "Shred them, Ammit Heart-Eater!" The gold-plated crocodile appeared in a stream of gold light, its crest of brightly-coloured feathers shining softly in the half-light of the alleyway. The quartet of titans met with a mighty crash, claws embedding themselves in shields, lances stabbing for hearts and teeth and claws slicing for heads and anything they could reach. Deciding to leave his minions to it, the leader suit used Hyperstride to leap up and over the fight, landing lightly on the other side.

He was met with silence and darkness, and snarled. In the midst of the fight, Loki and Dante had snuck away, using their titans as a distraction. The suit gulped as a thought sprang unbidden to his mind.

Rassimov would not be happy about this...

* * *

><p>"Well," Cherit croaked from his place in Will's bag, poking his head out the top and leaping out to fly beside him, both he and his teenage friend deeming the deserted road safe. "The Huntik Foundation is right down here. Shall we?"<p>

Will paused at the entrance to the small courtyard, thinking. "I don't know." He said at last, after a moment's silence. "I've already searched through their Casterwill records, and they're sketchy at best. Vague mentions of Lancelot, the Grail, and Casterwill are the only things that labeled them as part of my family's documents. I don't think this place will hold any answers for us."

Cherit landed on the boy's shoulder. "Then why did we walk all the way here?" He asked in his croaky voice, confused. "We could have helped Loki and Dante!"

He went to say more, but paused as he saw the pain and confusion in Will's emerald orbs. "I..." The boy shook his head. "I don't know." He sighed, looking so lost and scared that Cherit's heart immediately went out to him. "Something about this place is familiar, like I've been here before. I guess...I guess I thought, I hoped, that I would see something I recognised that would give me _some_ kind of clue...Anything at all..." He trailed off, then looked up at his friend, eyes filled with sadness. "I'm the last of my people, and I don't even know anything about the secrets I'm meant to protect and pass on to my heirs and descendants. I am the last Casterwill, but I'm not a Casterwill in any sense of the word. I know a few forgotten powers, sure, but I don't know anything else. How am I meant to carry on a legacy I don't even know about?"

Cherit fell silent, not knowing how to answer, having no answers or comforts. It was clear that this had been on Will's thoughts for a while now. Ever since the Organization had taken his fortune- although the Huntik Foundation had used their influence to get it back- he'd realised that without the money, he was just like any other Seeker. He wasn't amazingly powerful, or have any particularly rare titans. He had no special tomes, like Eathon's journal, filled with secrets and clues to finding mystical artifacts. He had a name. That was all.

Just a name he didn't even think he deserved.

How could he call himself a Casterwill? Anyone would be better suited to the name then he was! Dante, who was the strongest Seeker he knew, would make an excellent Casterwill, with his quick mind and skill with powers and martial arts. Loki's mist power marked her out as something special, something unseen before, even in the notes he had managed to find that talked of his family's secret powers, the ones he had found Breakspell in. Her unique spellcasting ability, and ease with titan-Bonding and puzzle-solving made her one of the best young Seekers the Foundation had ever seen. Even Zhalia, distrustful though he had been of her, was a better bet than he was. She was strong- though a subtle strength as opposed the Dante's fighting-based strength- and able to master spells quickly, even difficult ones like Thoughtspectre and Headcage.

So, yes, with these thoughts in mind, Will was not in the best of moods. Despondent, lonely against a problem only he could solve yet had no answer to, these thoughts had preyed on his mind for some time, leaving him feeling hopeless and defeated. He sighed, then gave Cherit a weak smile neither of them believed was true.

"Come on then." He started walking down the street again. "You're right. We should help the others, as best we can." The end of his sentence spoke again of the doubts filling his heart right now, and the mini-titan on his shoulder frowned. Will was a strong Seeker, one of the best his age, and yet with these dark thoughts clouding his mind, he couldn't see it. The doubts were chipping away at his will, the source of his Seeker power, and weakening him, creating a vicious cycle where the more he doubted, the weaker he became, and the weaker he became, the more he doubted.

Suddenly, he almost fell off Will's shoulder as he stopped, frozen as ice, chilled to the bone as a shudder of remembrance rippled through his soul and mind and memories. A green, rolling hill rose before them, a soft piece of countryside beside the harshness of city-life. A path of trees circled and climbed it, but Will could see in his mind's eye the gentle gold-cream sandstone path that once wove between them. All at once, the numbing ice disappeared in a vision of flames.

* * *

><p><em>They rose around him, burning and bright and that was wrong because something so beautiful and comforting as the warmth and crackle of flames shouldn't <em>do_ this, shouldn't be bad and scary and light was meant to be good but this was so so bad, and he was scared and there was no one where they should be and the silence was wrong because it wasn't silence at all. The sound of burning, the smell of flames, the feeling of light, the sight of heat and his head was all messed up because nothing, _nothing_ was as it should be. He cried out, calling for someone, anyone, and the smoke slid down his throat like an evil, ghostly snake, choking him and he fell silent, still screaming for help, but he couldn't cry out and gods, please, if there is someone there please let them hear his not-screams please let them help! He looked around as blackness filled his eyes and his head, trying to see a rescuer, the tall, strong Father, or the kind, sweet Mother, someone to help him, but he was alone in the burning, crumbling ruins of his life and home. He had a brief moment to wonder where the others of the household were- the sole maid, Marie, the chef who doubled as a gardener Bancroft, the butler LeBlanche- no, he had stayed at home in England this time, he was safe, good, someone was safe, but he wasn't no, no he was scared and in pain and the darkness was coming._

_"Master William!" Hands shook him, and he cried out as they touched his fevered skin, and the fires were inside, they were burning him too, and please, please, just make it stop! "Please, Master William, wake up!" He forced his eyes open, pure force of will, Will that was him, will that was what made a Seeker, like Daddy, like he was going to be, so open your eyes, even though it hurts to see the fire and the fire says to close them and just sleep, because that voice was calling and it was someone who knew him and cared and he was meant to listen to because they would always, _always_ protect him._

_He opened his eyes, squinting against the glare of the flames that were nearer now, reaching for him with their glowing hands. A boy, no, a teen, was crouching over him, dark eyes worried in his tanned face, the circular tattoo on his forehead crinkling slightly as he frowned down at him. A name leapt onto his tongue, and for a moment, Will wondered how he could have ever forgotten him. "S-santiago!" The five-year old clutched at his bodyguard's shirt as he was lifted up into his arms, and then they were running, faster than the wind, as fast as well-trained, swift Santiago could go. Will kept his eyes tight shut as he was told to by his dear friend, and ignored the sick smell that reminded him of the kitchen and dinner, but bad dinner, a cooking smell that was wrong wrong _wrong_. _

_The teen, ten years Will's senior, ran fast and long, and as wind touched his face, a calm, cooling caress, Will opened his eyes, disobeying his saviour, and looked back at the place he had once called home in the warm months of summer, when London was still cold and wet and dark, when they had come to the light, sunny Paris to relax and love and enjoy each other's company. The sanctuary was gone, now a roaring, towering tribute to the power of fire._

* * *

><p>Will blinked with a gasp, chasing away the past that haunted his eyes as memories surged back. He had been told the story many times, but his memory of that day had always been nothing but darkness. He looked up at the hill with horror, sorrow and more than a little curiosity. His summer home in Paris, the one where the Blood Spiral had found them and burnt them to the ground, had once stood proudly there, watching over the city like a protective father. His parents had been killed there, his life destroyed there, the servants that had come with them from their house in England had given their lives to protect him and save them from the fires that had consumed them all anyway. Santiago, sent to get groceries from the town, and LeBlanche who had remained in England were the only other survivors.<p>

A solemn peace stole over him, and suddenly, he knew what he would do.

Cherit, sat on his shoulder still, saw the calm that passed over his face. "Will?" His voice seemed to break the trance the boy was in, and the brunette smiled at him, a true smile this time.

"You're not the only one walking down 'Memory Lane', Cherit." He started forwards towards the hill, feeling for, in his pocket, Sabriel's amulet for comfort and strength. "Let's take a detour. I'll explain on the way."

Maybe the ruins of his past would hold some answers for his future, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

* * *

><p>Loki grinned, nearly skipping alongside Dante as they walked through Paris, and the auburn couldn't help but be drawn into the girl's infectious optimism and eagerness, some of his sadness regarding the missing presence at his back lifting from his shoulders. He remembered the blonde's words when <em>she<em> had left, knowing the truth of them, but still missing with an aching heart the blue-haired Seeker that had disappeared from his life after saving them all.

_Whatever she says, Zhalia's still a part of our team. She'll come back, I know it!_

Indicating to his excitable pupil that they were there, and to turn left between the two old buildings rising before them, he nearly yelped as he found his hand grabbed, the stronger-than-she-looked girl dragging him along. Shaking his hand from her grasp, unable to keep the smile from his face as she giggled and laughed at his indignation, Dante told Loki to act _professional_, and she instantly sobered. The split-second change only made them laugh even more. The pain faded a little more, though he knew he would miss her every second, every breath until she returned, as he looked at his adopted daughter with a smile and an exasperated shake of his head.

Taking the lead as the now-calmed teen padded quietly behind him, he led her down a flight of stairs cut into the bed-rock of the city, down under Paris, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze as the blonde shivered, remembering the last time they had dared venture underground here. She gave him a small smile, and shook off her mood and memories, giving him a sharp, stern, determined nod to tell him she was okay. He smiled. Loki had come a long way- though still hyper-active, often reckless, and too damn energetic at eight o'clock in the morning, she _had _calmed down on missions, showing a strength of will and mind that not many possessed anymore. She had faced a lot in such a short amount of time, and yet she still kept going, taking all that was thrown at her, good and bad. She was one of the most honest, kind-hearted, good-natured people he had ever met, and the best kind of friend anyone could ever hope for.

At last, the darkness parted to show a small chamber, still made of the Parisian, blue-grey bed-rock, the walls now man-made, bricked and stoned into a calm, quiet area of peace and solitude. A single item lay in the small room- a life-size statue depicting four knights, each in a different pose, that stood against the far wall. Loki's eyes darted over it immediately, thinking, and Dante was suddenly glad she was there. The room didn't hold many clues, and Loki's intuition, luck, and puzzle-solving skill would come in handy.

As they neared the bottom of the stairs, a group of civilians turned to meet them, at their head a chubby woman with short-cropped blond hair and glasses. Dante padded forwards to meet her, whilst Loki left his side to inspect the statue. "I'm Dante Vale, from the Huntik Foundation, here to help you with our research." The woman beamed at him.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Vale! Welcome, by all means." Her eyes drifted past him, curiously, to look at Loki, and he gave a polite smile.

"This is my teammate and student, Loki Lambert."

There was a chill to the smile, one almost unseen, that he got in return that had his guards up in an instant. He shook himself as he walked away. He was getting suspicious in his old age. The glimmer of recognition of the name and face of the blonde was probably after the incident in Ireland, when the call had gone out to all researchers to be on the look out for the symbols, still unidentified, that ringed Loki's neck, hidden by the high collared shirt she had worn ever since.

He stood next to Loki in silence for a moment, knowing better that to interrupt her when her mind was on a puzzle- not that he feared the response, but that she simply wouldn't listen- then spoke when she registered he was there. "This would be Sirs Lancelot, Galahad, Percival and Bors, taking the test of the Holy Grail."

Loki turned to look at him out of the corner of her eye. "Why is it called Lancelot's Mausoleum when there are four knights?" Dante took a moment to reply, conscious of the 'researchers' moving to spread out behind them, a semi-circle at their back.

"It is thought that Lancelot was singled out because he was from France."

The blonde woman nodded from her place by the wall. "That's true, but," She smiled kindly, but still, something about it set Dante's alarm bells ringing. "We believe it's because Lancelot himself brought the Grail here."

Dante crouched to read the Old French at the base of the statue. "The inscription reads: _Even the path of the everyman can lead to the light._" He looked up at his student. "What do you make of it?" She pursed her lips in thought, moving along the four men to reach the one at the end.

She paused, then looked over at the researchers. "Which one is Bors?"

It was the blonde who answered again, and Loki found herself wondering if the others could even talk. "You're standing in front of him, young lady." She pointed to the final figure. "Right there."

Loki nodded as if this made sense. "_That_ one's the key to the riddle." Her voice, confident and sure, left no room for doubt. Dante smiled, looking the knight over and coming to the same conclusion.

"That's right." Loki shrugged her shoulders at him, as if to say _'obviously'._ "Did you notice how dented and well-used his armor is compared to the other knights?" His answer was another shrug. "Or was it his expression, simple, focused, the face of a hard worker?" Loki was silent, considering, a slight, wicked smile pulling at the edges of her lips. "You know," Her teacher said after a moment's contemplation. "It's said that on the Grail quest, he achieved what the powerful Lancelot could not. He reminds me of a young Seeker I know." He rested a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped, turning her cerulean eyes on him, a mischievous spark gleaming in their depths.

"Save your praise." She grinned. "I'm sure all of that is meant to help, but you could just look at where he's pointing his sword- the perfect place for a secret door!" The blonde padded away to the section of the wall that the sword was gesturing to, and Dante gave a soft half-laugh, half-sigh, realising that the puzzle maniac had taken a completely different route to him. She had known that the statue was the clue to finding the path to the _real_ Mausoleum, and had instantly looked for a place that the path could be. The other knights' swords were either pointing at the ceiling or at each other, so Bors had been the only logical choice.

He watched with amusement, whilst the researchers looked on in haute disbelief, as Loki reached out, paused, closed her eyes, then blindly pressed her hand to the wall. The piece she touched sunk inwards, and the wall slid away to reveal a secret passage way. With a grin and a triumphant laugh, she span on a heel to smirk at her mentor. His wary face, eyes grim and filled with warning, made her keep smiling as if nothing was wrong, eyes flickering over his shoulder to see the 'researchers' moving closer in menacing silence. "Loki, there's more to being a Seeker than solving puzzles." She pretended to droop, pouting, as the men behind Dante began to reach into their pockets. "There's a lot of ups," He pointed to himself. "And downs." He pointed to her, his back shielding the movements from the views of the imposters.

The woman's voice came from the other side of the chamber. "Thank you, Dante Vale, for revealing the secret to," She smirked, and her pleasant demeanor fell away to show her true, dark colours. "The Organization! The Professor," She gave a brittle, horsey laugh that set Loki's teeth on edge. "Will be _most _pleased by your capture. Don't move!" Dante could see, reflected in Loki's wide, blue eyes, that all the disguised suits had Augerfrosts charged and ready, aimed at he and his student. He barked a quick order, leaping up and away.

"Get down!" Instead of falling clumsily and hastily to the floor as any other teen in this situation would have done- Will excepted, of course- Loki swept one leg out before her and around, ducking quickly and well balanced to attack, something she proved by using this leg-sweep to knock the feet out from under a suit that had gotten too close, his Augerfrost shooting away over her head, hitting one of his fellows and knocking him down.

Jumping up as Dante touched down, the pair shared a look before converging on the final male suit. Running up behind him, Loki lashed out a foot to catch him in the backs of his knees, starting the fall that Dante finished off with a Boltflare. Turning in tandem, the Huntik duo faced the woman who had so annoyed them, and she took a hasty step back, eyes no longer confident, now filled with fear.

"Attack!" She lifted an strange amulet into the air, a dark green and blue, vaguely head-shaped pendant with a light green gem. "Impet!" Loki and Dante tensed for another fight, neither wanting to waste their powers calling on a titan, and stopped as they saw the creature they were to face.

"Awww!" Loki squeeed, smiling at the little titan. "It's so _cute_!"

Impet was, quite frankly, adorable. It span from its amulet in a grey whirlwind, then staggered around, dizzy, before falling over. It looked like a little person with a big head, and floppy, rabbit-like ears. Its big eyes held only blue-green light, and it was wearing a short brown tunic, along with one gold earring and one gold ankle bracelet. A tail appeared from under the tunic, covered with spikes, as were its forearms and its mouth was jagged and rough. Still, sat there shaking its head to clear the dizziness away, Loki couldn't help but smile. It was so dang _cute!_ Maybe that was its secret weapon...

Growling, as both Dante and Loki smiled instead of cowering in fear before her mighty, and mightily adorable, titan, the operative pulled out another, more familiar amulet. "Mindrone!" Now this titan the Huntik pair took seriously, moving to stand back to back against the mechanical-looking titan and his tiny companion.

The Mindrone charged with a whirring of gears, and Loki quickly cast an Armourbrand to save herself from its crackling electricity beam. The Impet crept up behind them, leapt into the air, a torrent of flames blasting from its mouth at Dante, who ducked, rolled, and came up no more than a centimeter from the operative. He stared down at her, amber eyes lion-like, predatory, filled with fire and anger, and more than a little laughter at her expense, and she cringed with a gasp, knowing she wouldn't be able to defend herself at this range.

"A female spy trying to pass herself off as a Foundation researcher." Dante's lips tilted into a wry smile, one that spoke more of danger than security. Knowing the game was up, the suit-ette called her titans back with a squeak, and Loki padded over to lean on Dante's shoulder.

"We've been through this before." She grinned at the operative, baring her teeth like a wolf, and the woman got the message and ran, leaving her fellows behind. The blonde made to dart after, but her mentor caught her shoulder, holding her back.

"Let her go." She turned back, confused, and he tilted his head towards the secret entrance she had uncovered. "We've still got a mission." The girl paused, then sighed, seeing the wisdom in her friend's words, before grinning and running off down the passage, leaving Dante to chase after her.

Honestly, he thought to himself, one mention of a mission and she's like a puppy that's heard someone say 'walkies'. He then tried in vain to convince himself that he had never acted like that as a rookie, before following the girl into the tunnel.

* * *

><p>Will sighed, stretching his arms above his head as he and Cherit reached the top of the hill. The walk had seemed a lot shorter when he was little, and being driven up it, though, with a rueful smile, he remembered how big it had seemed when his imagination transformed it into a magical kingdom to play in. Something nagged at him when he remembered those days, as if something was missing from the scenes that would play before his mind's eye. Something important. He paused to mull over this strange sensation, but Cherit's voice broke his thoughtful silence before he could concentrate.<p>

"No sign of anything, lad. Just a patch of dirt." He flew back from around a tree, and Will followed him to what it was he had found. The crumbling wreckage of a wall, a corner, and part of the iron gate was all that was left. The ages and the earth had claimed all else that remained. Will sighed, placing a hand on the wall, trying to figure out in his head where they were in the house. After trying for a moment, he realised he hadn't the slightest clue. He sighed, and gave up, murmuring under his breath a near silent thanks to those who had given their lives to protect and save him, crouching down to pick up a chunk of stone, and carving their names to be remembered forever.

_Marie and Bancroft Jones  
>Thank you<em>

_Sophia and Alaric Casterwill  
>Goodbye<em>

He stood, looking down at the new engraving, unable to think of anything else to say or write. 'I miss you' was too corny, too _raw_ to let others see. Writing 'I love you' would be like letting them go, and he could never do that. And yet, there it was again, that strange feeling that there was something, _someone_ missing from the memorial, someone who had protected and looked out for him all his life, a vague memory of a shape, the hint of a face. He shook his head, dispelling the image. It was just his imagination.

"Will! _Will!_" The brunette turned to see his titanic friend gesturing wildly a little distance away. "It looks like there's a building down this old dirt path!"

The Casterwill stopped for a moment, eyes wide and mouth the same. The library! How could he have forgotten? Jeez. He was saying that a lot today, huh? Guess that's what happens when memories you've suppressed for the past 12 years suddenly come back to haunt you.

"Come on Cherit!" He ran along the path, silently wondering what they were going to do even if the old building was intact. If he remembered correctly, his father had mentioned something about a magical barrier that would protect the place from harm. He'd been too young to be initiated, so he had no idea what or where the key was. Which was just brilliant.

He stopped as the library appeared from the shadows, its pale gold roof and white-washed walls just the same as they had always been. The dust on the windows was new though, as was the tangle of plants that had overtaken the once neatly trimmed lawn. Cherit flew to sit on his shoulder, and Will absent-mindedly scratched his ear- something he knew the titan liked. "It's a library." He told his friend, and the white creature frowned.

"How do you know?"

"Because my father told me so." He gave his friend a smile. "And he never lied to me."

Except for when he said he would always be there.

Shaking away the darker thoughts that lingered in his mind, Will padded closer to the building, watching with amusement as Cherit flew to look through the windows, calling out. "Hello? Anybody there?" At last, he gave up and came back. "I'm not so sure your library card's going to be good here. Looks like no one's home." The boy laughed.

"You've been spending too much time with Loki." He grinned. "That's exactly what she would have said."

Concentrating on the puzzle of how to get inside, he didn't see the dark figure lurking on the roof. The young man, about twenty or so, had mahogany skin, deep, rich brown eyes, a grey-black goatee not that dissimilar to Dante's, and dreadlocks of the same colour that hung just past his shoulders. His body rippled with muscles, a sheathed sword strapped to his back a testament to how and why he was so athletically built. He wore a cream, sleeveless top with a brown border, a golden band around the top of his right arm, and golden bracers edged with brown around his wrists. A brown belt with a blue gem kept up his deep red trousers, tucked into his brown calf-high boots, and the gem, bracers, sword and band were all lovingly maintained, as evident from their shining appearance.

Seeing the intruder of the solitude of the abandoned library, he gave a low growl, reaching for the hilt of his sword, but a hand darted out and grabbed his, stopping him. "Don't, Dellix." The voice was light, feminine, and the hand that held him was the same. "Let him do what he wants."

"But, Lane-" His deep, rich voice marked him as a descendant of Persian ancestors, something his clothing showed he took pride in. She hushed him, watching the intruder with curiosity and amusement, and he, Dellix, sighed, settling back to watch with her.

His companion, Lane, satisfied that he would not go to harm the boy wandering around beneath them, let go. Though it was obvious by their easy nature with each other that the two were friends, this young lady was his opposite in looks. She was sprite-like, slender and delicate, with pale skin and wide eyes that spoke of a British origin, something her voice matched. While she looked the same age as Loki and Will, it was clear from the age and wisdom in her bright, blue eyes that she was nearer in age to the man beside her. Her hair, a curious blue-green colour that suited her beautiful, pixie features, was tied up with red bobbles in two bunches near the top of her head, adding to the youthful image she gave off. She wore a deep purple top with a light pink neckline, and pink, knee-length shorts that matched for colour, with deep pockets, possibly for titans. Her deep red socks, a shade or two lighter than Dellix's trousers, were rumpled and wrinkled, and although calf-high they could possibly reach higher. Her shoes, a pair of scruffy white trainers, were obviously well-used and loved. A sleeveless, cropped, light-brown jacket completed the outfit, along with a trio of black, thin bracelets on her left wrist.

Lane lowered her hand silently, both she and Dellix watching with amazement as Will, on a whim and with a face that said he obviously didn't think it would work, tried opening the door. To his surprise, and that of his quiet onlookers, it swung inwards at his touch, beckoning him in. As he stepped through into the library, looking around in astonishment, Cherit on his shoulder, a barrier of light rippled behind them, in the open frame of the door, a fiery symbol appearing in the air. It was similar to Icarus's symbol, a circular, curving cross like the shape of wings. In the space in the upper 'u' of the cross was a dot, and in the lower 'n' was a circle missing the shape of the dot in its lower section. Lane nodded, the meaning of the image clear to her and her fellow guardian.

"That door would only open for a Casterwill." She turned to Dellix with a fey, wicked smile. "He belongs here!"

* * *

><p>Inside the darkened rooms, filled with that crisp, yet musty smell of old books, that sense that all around you is knowledge and enlightenment in this shadowed place, the silence that permeates all libraries, the unspoken code that you must not disturb the quiet, Will looked around himself with wonder and joy. Here, here he could learn the secrets that he thought had been lost. He <em>was<em> a Casterwill. That he had gotten through the door was proof enough- his blood must be the key to breaking the barrier. It would also explain why the place looked untouched. He must be the only person to have come in here since...that day.

"What an amazing collection!" Cherit cried, swooping around excitedly. "I don't know where to start, and we have to hurry! The Organization may be onto Loki and Dante!"

Something caught Will's eye, and a sly smile crept onto his face. "This one." He padded over, cat-like in his step, to a thick, blue-backed book on a shelf behind the table and chairs, for reading at he supposed, in one of the rooms. "It's been recovered from a fire." He inspected the front cover, which bore a stylized cross, then moved to the table and opened it, laying it gently down before sitting, trying to chase from his mind the memory of flames and burning that flickered into life when his hands brushed the crumbled, ruined binding that had been mangled by the fire. He remembered where he had seen this book before... This was the book his father had been reading on the day of the fire, the reason it had been removed from the protected library. Maybe picking up where his father had left off would be a good place to start. He frowned as he read the page before him, then sighed, looking over at Cherit with despair. "It's been written in some kind of code..." He suddenly longed for Loki's presence. Codes had always been more her sort of thing than his. Plus, he missed her. And he was sure she was probably doing something reckless _right now_. And he wasn't there to look after her. Call him paranoid, but Loki had a record of doing this kind of thing, so Will had learnt to develop a sort of sixth sense- well, seventh really. His ability to sense magical auras and spells counted as his sixth sense- as to when the blonde was in danger.

Cherit, obviously thinking along the same lines, shook himself out of his misery. "Well, where there's a code, there's a cipher that let's you break it!" Will nodded, flipping through the nonsensical pages, pausing at one with a picture of a man with a long, flowing beard, and long, flowing robes, old and wizened, the tall hat on his head decorated with two curving lines, a staff in one hand, and a pendant hanging from his neck. Will recognised the pendant immediately. It was the sigil of his house- a circle with four dots within it. He supposed it meant something to the initiated, but to him it was a just picture. And a reminder of how much of an outsider he was within his own family.

"Yes," The boy said slowly. "But how do I know which page of gibberish is the cipher? They all look the same!" Again, the wish that lucky, intuitive Loki was there came to his mind.

Cherit flew to land on the table, his eyes fixed on the image on the page opposite the one Will was trying to translate. A memory, colourful and vivid, flashed through his mind like lightning, and he gasped, eyes wide. Will's voice brought him back.

"Cherit? You okay? What is it?"

Grey eyes turned to look at him slowly, still half fixed on the picture. "I...I think I know what that _is!_" He cried, then fell silent, overwhelmed by his half-remembered fragments.

"Really?" Will leant forwards, frowning, hiding his eagerness beneath his confusion. "What?"

The titan's next words almost stopped his heart and brain right there and then from the shock. "I think...it's the Ancient Amulet of Will."

Will repeated the words like a trained parrot, stunned. He shook his head, then tried again. "_The _Ancient Amulet of Will? How do you know?"

If Will was shocked before, he was electrocuted now. "I think I may have seen it before!"

He shook his head again, trying to make sense of the titan's seemingly outrageous claim. "Cherit, no one's used it since Casterwill himself. _The original Casterwill_. As in, the legendary figure responsible for bringing titans to Earth! That was well before recorded history at any rate. How could you possibly know, unless..." A sudden, crazy idea struck him like a thunderbolt, and he faced his friend with eyes filled with amazement, wonder, and more than a little awe. "Unless you _were there!_"

* * *

><p>AN: As I said, filler episode. So, I filled it with Will Feels. ^_^ The only Casterwill I actually like. Though...I am biased.<p> 


	62. Chapter 61 Memory Lane Part 3

AN: I really hated this episode, as it always bored me. So I'm glad this is finally outta the way.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 61- Memory Lane Part 3

Loki sighed, trying to both lean on and peer over Dante's shoulder at the Holotome as they walked along the seemingly endless tunnel. "Sooooo," She grinned, and her mentor sighed too, knowing that tone and the smile that went with it threatened almost endless questions. "Are we after the Holy Grail, or what?"

Dante shook his head and his shoulder, dislodging his strange parrot, who gave an indignant squawk before shrugging and trotting after him. "No," The auburn's quiet voice rang out softly down the blue-grey corridor. "That was Lancelot's quest, but he never succeeded."

Loki frowned, wondering how the supposedly perfect knight could have failed. "Why?"

Dante tucked his Holotome away into one of many pockets before opening the door they had come to and walking inside. Within lay a grand, underground hall, a series of portraits lining the walls on each side. He looked back over his shoulder at his student, beckoning her to follow him, before answering. "He wasn't worthy. Lancelot fell from grace when he fell in love with Guinevere." He nodded to the picture depicting the two, and the blonde's eyes widened slowly.

"She was the wife of King Arthur." She whistled slowly. "Yup. Gotta say, going after the woman who was _married_ to my _best friend_ and _king_ is one of the quickest ways to get kicked off the worthy list." She fell silent to consider this a moment, then turned to Dante again. "But he must have found loads of other cool stuff on his quest, right?"

Dante smiled to himself. Though Loki was mature for her age, and almost seemed anciently wise when solving puzzles, it was her occasional use of words like 'cool' that brought him back to Earth with a bump regarding her age. "That's why we're here."

Neither of them noticed the portrait of Lancelot and his forbidden love glowing green with a ghostly light, the two courtiers stepping out of the frame, their bodies ending in tattered rags that marked them as spectres, before Guinevere disappeared, leaving her faithful knight to dispose of the two that had disturbed their rest. The faint _'hiss'_ of a sword leaving a scabbard was all the warning Dante got, seeing the green-tinted blade coming down towards he and Loki. Unable to warn his friend in time, it was all he could do to push her out of the way before leaping out of the way himself.

Loki, however, objected to his methods. He had, after all, not _pushed _her out of the way, per say. He had _kicked _her in the shoulder, sending himself shooting one way and her stumbling the other. That had _hurt_. Dante's kicks could knock a man _out_. It certainly made her arm _numb_ at least. She opened her mouth to complain as to just _why_ he had thought it necessary, but, seeing the knight floating in front of her mentor, shut her mouth again. For all of two seconds. "Don't tell me that's the ghost of _Sir Lancelot?!_"

Dante, thankfully, shook his head, and Loki sighed, relieved. While they may basically be grave-robbing, she had an issue with beating up dead guys. It's just, they'd already had to go through _dying_. It seemed a bit mean to then knock them about a bit. "It's a Casterwill trap," The russet-haired Seeker told her, keeping the knight at an arms length. "It leaves behind a ghostly version of the Seeker who summoned it, like the one we use as an auto-pilot on the Huntik planes." The blonde nodded, then looked around for a weapon- a suit of armor, a big rock, anything that would help her fight a _guy with a sword_. It wasn't often, but it was times like these that she wished she hadn't lost Lindorm's sword fighting the sleep-flowers sent by Jason near to Medea's Island.

Meanwhile, Dante was dancing around the ghost-knight like a monkey, leaping here and there to avoid the weapon whilst trying to find an opening to attack. Jumping up to the ceiling, he used it to propel himself down onto 'Lancelot's' head, and the unsuspecting knight could do nothing to stop him...

Except, nothing _did happen_. Dante, instead of hurting the knight, or even touching him, went _right through_, almost as if the knight _wasn't there at all. _Loki, seeing this from the other side of the room, let out an exasperated groan. "Oh, yeah, a note when fighting ghosts. They are _immaterial_. We're not gonna be able to land a hit!"

At the sound of her voice, the ghost-knight turned, pausing for a moment to look her up and down and then, although Dante tried to keep his attention, began to glide slowly towards the blonde. Panicking, and ignoring her mentor's a-second-too-late warning, she stretched out a hand. "Boltflare!" The twisting globe of light sprang from her palm, streaked across the space, filling it for one moment with comforting warmth and light, before reaching the knight. Instead of going through like Dante or Loki had expected, the power was reflected back by the knight's shield, flying back to its Seeker and sending her flying. She landed with a whimper and an _'oof'_, and lay still, stunned by the attack.

Dante's eyes followed the battle, burning with worry, amber fires down here in the darkness of the earth. "Not good." He thought to himself unnecessarily, using Hyperstride to quickly stand between Loki and the approaching knight. The ghost paused for a moment, as if confused, then raised his sword once more. "Loki, _RUN!_" The lion-eyed man gave a low growl, deep in his throat, spreading his arms wide and glaring fiercely at his enemy, a stare that would have made any mortal man quiver with fear for their life. "If you want her," He took a step forwards to meet the knight's silent advance. "You'll have to go through me first."

A faint whisper echoed through the hall, the words faded and too quiet to hear, and then suddenly, the knight vanished in a dark flash of light. Dante stepped back, confused and startled, before pushing it from his mind and turning to help Loki climb unsteadily to her feet. "Dante," The blonde asked quietly, eyes on the now empty space before them. "Did _you_ do that?" He shook his head, and she fell silent, eyes dimming as she turned inwards to think. "Maybe," She offered slowly. "Since Lancelot was all about being worthy, he couldn't attack a woman because it was against the Knight's Code? Or maybe you proved yourself worthy because you were willing to sacrifice yourself for me? Or something?" She paused, blushed a little, and ducked her head, embarassed. "Thanks for that, by the way."

Dante smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Anytime. I know you'd do the same for me." The girl grinned wickedly up at him.

"Yeah, well," She shrugged. "If we count the number of times you've saved my life against the number of times I've saved yours, the odds definitely go in your favour. But, you got my back, I've got yours. I'll even the tally one of these days." After giving him a determined nod, she made to dash forwards again, but her mentor held her back.

"After that little display," He tilted his head towards the now empty portrait of Lancelot and Guinevere. "I think we'd better stick together, just in case."

As the pair moved on into another tunnel, neither he nor Loki could shake the sinking suspicion that someone else was watching and, with a chill of fear, the blonde realised a dormant part of her mind was stirring. What was stolen from her was close, calling for where it belonged, some dim, distant part of her sensing that its presence was nearer than it had been for a long time.

The only question was... _who was bringing it closer? _

For a brief moment, Loki considered telling Dante, but she cast the thought aside almost as soon as she had had it. Dante would only worry, or send her back, and the blonde was determined to see this mission through to the end, as she was all missions. She wouldn't give up. This time, she knew what was coming. This time, she could and would fight. She refused to be weak anymore.

* * *

><p>Will sighed, the tips of his steepled fingers resting on his chin, eyes dark with thought, focused entirely on the picture of who he now knew to be Casterwill on the page before him. "Please, Cherit," He said at last, breaking the silence that had fallen since the brunette's earlier discovery. "Think. This could be the key to the most important amulet there is, not to mention finding Eathon."<p>

Yes, while after all this time, someone else might have forgotten, that thought was never far from Will's mind. Finding Eathon, and helping reunite Loki with her father after all these years, had become a mission for the Casterwill- he would do anything to help the blonde. As his first friend- though his mind would always insist that he wanted to be more, something he would always deny- he would do anything for her. And if that meant spending the rest of his life solving the riddle that this book presented, then he would do it.

The little creature at his side, seeing the pure, draconic stubbornness- for he knew from experience that dragon titans are impossible to reason with once they have made up their minds- sighed as well. "I'm trying, lad, but I don't really have any memories from that far back." With a frustrated cry, he flung his arms down, resting his head on them, despairing of ever figuring out the book's secret, and wishing he could help somehow. Will, seeing the titan's sadness, reached out and rested his hand on his head, smiling gently.

"Don't worry, Cherit." He told him kindly. "We'll figure something out."

Cherit lifted his head to look up at his friend with sad, grey eyes, and a phrase on the page seemed to jump out at him. His mouth open with shock, he scuttled forwards to read it, his voice small and wondering. "Sen, Tan, Ghon." He shook his head, then glanced at Will, then back to the words, as if to make sure that they were really there. "Why does that sound familiar?"

Will grinned, an idea coming to life in his mind. Carefully moving the book back to sit in front of himself, his emerald eyes scanned the page quickly. "Those three words... If they're the start of the cipher..." He murmured slowly as he thought, then sat back, grinning even wider than before. While Loki may be the puzzle-queen, he was smarter than most gave him credit for. Not _all _of the boy's skills were book-learnt. He was naturally clever as well. In moments, he had deciphered the book, though all he needed was the section before him to tell him the rest of the knowledge written carefully in the blue-bound pages. "This book _isn't_ about the code!" He crowed quietly. "It's about the cipher, a key for decoding the secret Casterwill powers!" Thinking back, he could recognise a few of the words from the parchment he had learnt Breakspell from, many years ago.

If he could just find the spellbook, or other materials that this book was referring to, then maybe, _maybe, _he would finally be able to silence that voice whispering insidiously at the back of his mind that he wasn't a true Casterwill. If there was no one to _teach _him the secrets of his family, then he would just have to _find_ them.

* * *

><p>Dante sighed, the soft noise echoing down the stone corridor for a long time afterwards. Loki, at his side as always, looked up at him curiously, with a hint of dark fear in her sapphire orbs, but before he could ask her what was wrong, the spark that so often lit up her eyes chased it away, and she darted off away from him, pausing at the end of the corridor, at a stone archway that led into another great hall. The runes that lined the arch were obviously what had caught the blonde's attention, his guess ringing true a few seconds later when the girl called back over her shoulder.<p>

"Cool signage!" She grinned at him. "It reads: The Path of Trust," The grin grew wider, more manic, and Dante almost winced. That grin meant trouble, lots of it. "But it looks more like the Path of Fall To Our Dooms to me! This is gonna be awesome!" She then promptly ran through the doorway before he could either catch up to her or stop her. The auburn sighed, following her, and shook his head.

Maybe it would be a good idea to follow through on that threat he made in Iceland. Maybe he should get his puppy a leash, so she would stop running off and getting herself almost killed all the time. Then he could actually keep an eye on her for once instead of just standing around worrying.

Passing through the doorway though, he saw what had made the blonde so excited. While the walls and ceiling of the hall were almost identical to the last one, this one had no floor. At all. Just a big, empty pit.

Which wasn't, on second glance, actually empty. It was filled with ghostly spectre knights, each holding up a shield, creating a path. This was going to be...difficult. "This is gonna be so cool!" Loki obviously didn't agree. "I love ghosts! When they're not attacking or trying to kill us that is."

Dante eyed his student disbelievingly, worrying about her mental health. "Speaking of ghosts that tried to kill us, happen to notice I passed right through him?"

Loki looked at him, her face deadly serious for a moment, before she grinned back at him. "Yup. That's what makes it so cool!" She smiled at him slyly. "You don't sound very _trusting_, Dante."

He looked at her over his shoulder as he moved forwards, the knights in the pit raising their swords so that he'd be speared if he fell as they noticed him. "So you don't mind going first then?"

She gave him a smile that quite clearly said: _I know something you don't know._ Then a thoughtful glint came into her eyes, and the smile disappeared. "Give me a second." She disappeared back into the corridor, and grabbed a loose stone from the floor before dashing back to Dante and throwing it as hard and as far as she could over the pit. It almost immediately got vaporised by beams of light from the knights' swords. Loki pouted. "After the Sceptre's chamber, I didn't really expect it to work." She sighed. "I just wanted it to be _easy_ for once."

Dante patted her shoulder. "Just trust, and we'll be fine."

She looked shyly up at him through her eyelashes. "I trust in you." And then she gave him a quick hug and blushed red like a tomato. He laughed, keeping an arm around her shoulder, touched at her belief in him. It gave him back some of the faith he had lost, and reassured him about his doubts. Life was like that sometimes. All you needed was to hear that someone believed in you.

"Alright, let's do it together then."

Holding hands- something Dante would only ever do with Loki or Zhalia- the pair stepped onto the first shield. It dipped slightly under their combined weight, but held. No magic, no disappearing, no going-straight-through. It just stayed there. Smiling at each other, Loki and Dante let go to stand balanced on their own, relieved. Maybe, trust _was_ all they needed. Together, in step, they made it half-way across the pit, before Loki saw the next shield was a bit too small to take them both, and volunteered to go first across.

And, of course, that was when it all went wrong.

The Knight holding the shield under Loki flickered, then began to glow with a green-tinted light. The blonde had time to meet Dante's eyes, her own filled with panic and fear, before she fell through, down into the pit. Without a second's though or hesitation, the auburn leapt after her, grabbed her hand, and reached out with his other to latch onto anything else to stop them both from falling.

Strangely, in his panic to save his friend and student, he grabbed the very shield she had fallen through, and it held for him. Using the strength for which he was so famous, the russet-haired man pulled Loki up so she was holding on around his neck, then boosted her onto the shield again, even though some part of him said that it was a stupid thing to do. Surprisingly, it stayed solid this time.

However, something about the blonde was still setting the trap off. The sword that was once pointing towards the roof to stop aerial travel was now swinging towards her, and the other knights had moved too far away for her to jump. Ducking once, she nearly fell off the small shield, and would have lost her head, if it hadn't been for Dante kicking the knight- who was somehow solid to him, but not to his student- and causing it to miss.

Moving quickly whilst the knight was distracted, Dante clambered onto the shield with Loki's help, then picked her up, not wanting to risk another shield-disappearance, and ran across the path of steel, reaching solid, safe ground before the both of them collapsed. The blonde's hand crept into Dante's, and he could see the fear and confusion in her eyes, but unable to explain the magic's strange reaction to his friend, he could only smile reassuringly and squeeze her hand in return whilst they both got their breath back.

Neither of them saw, as with the previous trap, that they had had help, in the form of a dark, black magic that had taken the form of a thorny vine, holding down the knight's sword from where it had almost, unseen, attacked the fleeing Huntik Seekers from behind.

Loki sat up, looking back at the now empty pit- the knights having disappeared now that their task was complete- and shaking her head in disbelief. "That was close." She looked over as her mentor, too, started to get to his feet. "Thanks Dante." She ducked her head, embarassed. "Again..."

For a moment, her mind going back over the challenge she and Dante had just passed, if you could call it that, the way in which the knights had stopped her using Kipperin reminded her of the Sceptre chamber.

The Sceptre of Nefertiti had been a bit strange with her too. She could remember, quite clearly, that it had been almost _confused_ about her, but had decided she was alright. Seemed the knights had been confused as well, but come to a completely different answer. Though, it puzzled her. What was it about her that was setting the traps and artifacts on edge? Was it her mist power, or the fact that she could no longer control it? Lancelot was meant to be a chivalrous knight, so it couldn't be that she was a woman...

Shaking her head, she turned back to Dante, putting the matter into a little box at the back of her mind to think over later. He was looking across the pit, eyes narrowed and dark with thought. "It could never be easy for once, could it?" She joked, trying to cheer them both up, and the amber eyes moved to regard her.

"Actually, I think it's been too easy."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? We barely made it past those last two." She gestured back the way they had come, still incredulous. Dante shook his head slowly.

"Lancelot was a powerful Seeker. His traps kept this place safe even though it's inside a major city." As the pair turned to carry on down the next corridor, the man ushered his student before him, keeping her safe from what he was sure was behind. "I have a feeling we had help."

* * *

><p>Will narrowed his eyes with a smirk. Suits. They were always so <em>stupid<em>. All it had taken to get past the ones at the entrance was going over the roof, then lowering a rope to sneak behind them. No one ever thought to look up. As he silently hurried down the bed-rock stairs, wondering how it was that suits had even managed to find amulets, as he seriously doubted they could even find their own feet, he paused as a new set of voices reached his ears.

"How did we manage to end up with this assignment?"

They were complaining about their job. Typical suits. Couldn't even do their menial tasks without wimping and whining about it.

"Do not worry. Rassimov himself went into action. There won't be a fight to miss."

Will frowned, eyes glinting in the darkness. Whilst he would love to destroy Rassimov as the Blood Spiral leader had once destroyed his life, the dark immortal Seeker was a force to be reckoned with. He was dangerous. Which meant no more sneaking around. Will had to get to the others quickly.

With Rassimov here, they would all be in terrible danger. They would need his help.

He trotted briskly down the stairs, slowing at the bottom to saunter over towards the suits as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Excuse me," He called, smirking his signature smirk again. "Are you two the idiot lackeys posted here to stop me?" The smirk widened as the two white-haired men reached into their pockets. "I'll take that as a yes." He lifted his hands to the air. "Take flight, Icarus!" The winged man blasted the suits with a blue fiery bolt, knocking the Augerfrosts that they were charging from their hands, before Will grabbed his feet.

In perfect harmony, Icarus swung his master towards the wall. The boy twisted, then used it as a launch pad to leap at the suits, slamming his feet into their heads and knocking them both out cold in one swift move. Dusting himself down, Will waved his titan on down the corridor before whistling for Cherit and setting off after the others.

* * *

><p>Loki grinned as another door appeared before them. Dante looked at her in askance, and she stepped forwards, craning her neck back to peer up at the new set of runes, mouthing them silently before nodding, and looking back at her mentor. "The Chamber of Purity and Sin." The auburn nodded, then pushed the door open, keeping the blonde behind him incase of another trap.<p>

Beyond the wooden door lay a warmly lit chamber, its soft gold stone walls inviting and welcoming. On the far side of the room lay a door, guarded by a ghostly woman with a regal face and charming features. Various tables, each containing different things, lined the walls near to her. One held a feast fit for a king, another enough gold to fill a treasury. One small side table was the bearer of an amulet, and on the other side of the room, tied to a pillar with a twin pair of ghost-green swords embedded in the group before her, was the Organization spy who had posed as a researcher earlier. Seeing no obvious traps, Dante stepped aside to let Loki have a look.

Instead of wondering as to the suit's presence in the chamber, the blonde's eyes were instantly drawn to the amulet. "Hey!" She bounced away from her mentor, beaming. "Is that an amulet for another Caliban, just like your's?" She had always admired the Aztec's skill and loyalty. Maybe now, she could have one too!

Dante padded after her, frowning. "That's what it looks like." He said at last. "Do you want to Bond with it?"

Loki grinned at him over her shoulder, nodding. "Yeah, I do! But..." She turned back, frowning, her lips pursed in thought. "Something's not right."

He raised an eyebrow in return. "You mean aside from someone leaving a powerful amulet just lying out in the open?"

She nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the amulet. There was something about it, something that was nagging at the back of her mind. Suddenly, she saw it. A soft, grey scratch on the left hand side, just at the base of the jewel. She remembered when Dante had told her the story behind it, something about a trip to Tokyo, and a fight with a Ryuu dragon spirit titan. She turned back to him. "Dante," Her solemn voice and wary eyes had him instantly alert. "This one looks just like yours. And I mean _just like yours._ It's even got the scratch from your trip to Japan." Eyes widening, his hands went to his pockets immediately. "Do you know where your Caliban is?"

After a moments tense silence, golden eyes met hers, confused and more than a little scared. "He seems to be...missing." Dante hoped the chamber would give him back. Caliban was more than a titan to him, he was his greatest and most treasured friend, someone who had always had his back, from the moment Metz had given him to him.

A fire sparked in Loki's cobalt orbs, and she turned back to the amulet with disgust and annoyance. "The Chamber just tried to trick me into _stealing_ from you!" She glowered at the amulet. "I don't want you that way. No thanks."

With an almost irritated glow, the table disappeared in a flash of light. Caliban's blue and grey amulet reappeared in Dante's hand, and he replaced him in his pocket with a sigh of relief. "That was probably an illusion." He lifted a hand to point to the ceiling. Ringing the border between roof and wall was a series of dotted lines. "If we touch anything, crossbow bolts will shoot out and ruin our day." He padded over to where the blonde was still glaring at the spot where the false amulet had been. "Let's just avoid everything in here."

"Wait." As he turned to walk away, Loki caught his arm, her eyes lit up with an idea. "It's not that simple. This is a puzzle. It has to do with Lancelot's quest. You said that he was all about proving himself worthy."

Dante nodded, a smile starting to tug at the corners of his lips. "That's right. During the quest, Lancelot was tested over and over to prove he was worthy of the Grail."

She grinned, seeing that he had caught on. "If I had tried to take your amulet, I'd be _worthless_." She gestured to the other tables. "It's about proving yourself, to Lancelot and the titan within." Leaving Dante's side, she moved to the feast-laden table. "Only a total glutton would eat all this food. No thanks." It disappeared with a soft _'humf'_.

Dante watched with amusement as she moved onto the table covered in gold. He knew several good men and women who wouldn't find this table so easy to dismiss, especially one like Loki, who wasn't that well off. And yet, the girl just waved a hand dismissively. "Honestly, who could live long enough to spend all that money?" It, too, vanished, but this time the Chamber seemed more approving rather than annoyed that its secret had been figured out.

Confused, Loki paused into front of the suit. "Am I meant to help her?" She moved to untie the ropes that bound the woman, but Dante pulled her back.

"It's a helpless enemy." He told her softly. "Revenge." He met the suit's eyes, and smiled gently. "We're not interested in hurting you." The fear in the woman's eyes disappeared, as did she, the room now empty save for the ghost in front of the door.

Loki raised an eyebrow at Dante, moving towards her. She went to walk past, then paused, looking more closely at the ghost, who stared right back, eyes narrowing. The blonde nodded once, something clicking in the back of her mind, then turned to her mentor. "You remember what I said before?"

"What?" He faced her slowly, looking between her and the ghost suspiciously, not trusting her after the way the other ghosts they had met had reacted to his pupil. "About being worthy?"

She shook her head, grinning. "Nope. _You_ said that. I said that this was about Lancelot's quest, point being, he tried _and failed_ to be worthy, because he fell in love with," With a grand flourish, she curtseyed low to the ghost. "Queen Guienevre. This test is about him, not the Grail."

The ghost's face softened as she looked upon the child, and a gentle smile, filled with grace and beauty, made her seem less imposing, as if she was glad to be remembered after so long in darkness.

Loki straightened up. "If you would be so kind to do the honours? I think this one is best left to you." Dante rolled his eyes at her, then bowed to the queen, taking her hand and lifting the delicate fingers to his lips. The regal figure bowed her head in return, then drew her hand away, and gave an imperious click of her fingers, demanding the door behind her open.

As it swung open, Loki grinned, slipping her tiny hand into Dante's larger one. "We did it." She crowed softly. "We're in!"

He turned to look down at her, the only thing that saved him from getting his head blasted by the Raypulse that streaked past them, slamming into the wall and knocking them over with the shockwave. Dante pulled Loki closer as they both went flying, protecting her from most of the blast by using himself as a shield.

"Thank you very much, Dante Vale."

Climbing unsteadily to her knees, the blonde glared fiercely at the speaker, trying to help Dante up, her eyes flickering down briefly to look at him with worry. In that one moment, a wave of blue energy knocked them both back down, almost seeming to suck away their strength. "Auraforce!" Loki glared up at him as best as she was able, limbs shaking from the pain, furiously fighting back tears. "I have been looking forwards to removing you from the Professor's path, but I thought you might help me obtain the treasures in that room first." His cold, dead eyes, snake like in their apathy, slid to meet Loki's own. "Not that there are no treasures to be found in this room." His cunning smile did nothing to calm the girl's fears. "And now," The man turned back to Dante, a black fire lighting up his eyes. "You will do one more thing for me."

The auburn managed to lift his head, fighting the oppressive force of the older man's magic. "Oh," He asked conversationally, his eyes as molten gold, fiery and promising great pain to whoever came near. "And what might that be?"

"You will tell me the location of your accomplice, the boy William Casterwill!"

"No need." A soft, dangerously quiet voice came from behind them, and the dead-white Seeker turned to face the figure leaning with Cherit on his shoulder against the doorway, Icarus recalled to his amulet, tired after ferrying Will across the pit. "I'm right here." He stepped into the light, face hidden once more behind that deadly mask of rage, one that he had hidden behind only once before, deep beneath the castle of Vlad Dracul, one that allowed him to fight to the best of his ability to save those he cared about. If the strength of the Seeker before him had not worried Dante before, Will's reaction to him was worrying him now. This was a powerful Seeker, one that even the Casterwill was scared off. And, suddenly, he knew what Will knew.

He knew who this man was.

The only man Will would ever be scared of.

This must be Rassimov.

Suddenly, Cherit flew past Will, darting up to the ceiling, screeching the auburn's name. He gave a brief smile as he realised the titan's plan. "Farslip!" The green beam shot out and hit the trap, sending crossbow bolts streaking across the room, suits diving left and right to avoid them, the Sekmet and Ammit Heart-Eater turning to gold light as they were too slow to dodge.

With Rassimov distracted, then power that had held Loki and Dante bound loosened, and the pair shared a grin before joining the battle. Will had already dealt with one suit, a swift roundhouse kick to the back of the head sorting that problem, and the auburn Seeker knocked the other one out with a Dragonfist to the stomach followed by a nice uppercut.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the dark Seeker had snuck behind the Huntik team, slinking through the shadows to appear in the room Guinevere had opened for them. Cerulean eyes watched him go, narrowing, before Loki ran after him, unnoticed. If the others had seen, perhaps they might have warned her just who she was up against.<p>

She saw through the open doorway that the man was rifling through the books and papers on the desk, and she glared at him. These things belonged to Will! They were his only link to his family, and she was not about to let some vampire wannabe take that away from him. "Hey!" She called, catching his attention and snarling. "That does not belong to you. This treasure is property of the Casterwill heir! Last time I looked, that wasn't you, corpse-breath!"

The onyx eyes flashed with rage. "Girl! Your insolent words have sealed your fate!" A cold sneer curled his lip, the mustache above twitching. "I will bring you to the Professor bloodied and bound in chains."

She smirked in reply. "Now, how many times have I heard that before?" She tilted her chin defiantly upwards. "I am Loki Lambert, daughter of Eathon Lambert, a Seeker of the Huntik Foundation. I'll stop you no matter what the cost. _Hyperstride!_" She shot across the gap, slamming into the dark Seeker and sending him sprawling to fall as an undignified heap on the floor. With a growl, he reached into his robe.

"Teach the girl her place! Break her spirit, Thornmet!"

The mummy appeared in a burst of dark light, purple vines protruding around her hands and feet, wrapping around her body in a mockery of a caress. Red eyes gleamed with malice in the blank, featureless face, framed by long, blue-green-black locks. The ancient queen, ruler of the desert, lifted her face to the covered sky as if to howl for her freedom, then turned to face Loki. The girl merely smiled, glowing a soft blue-grey. The man's eyes widened, and he staggered back from the sight.

"No!" He gaped, as Loki gave a vicious smile. "Impossible!"

* * *

><p>Back with the boys, the battle which had seemed almost over was far from it. In a fit of desperation, both suits had called upon another titan, and room now filled with a Bonelasher and a Impet. Upon seeing the deceptively cute titan, Will raised an eyebrow, lifting his favorite titan's amulet. "Fight with me, Sabriel!"<p>

Dante, grinning with relief because he was able to do so, pulled out his recovered amulet. "Come on, Caliban!"

Together men and titans charged each other, eyes narrowed and completely focused on each other. No one saw the suit's master take a step back in fear as the small, blonde child took one step forwards towards him.

* * *

><p>Loki smirked. "You people never really seem to know what that word means." She slowly lifted a hand, some part of her enjoying the fear she saw glimmering in her opponent's eyes. "Now, see, this is <em>very <em>possible, and it's all because of you." A beam of blue-grey mist sprang from her hand to tear the Thornment to pieces, and its Seeker gasped. "Klaus was strong, the Professor is strong, but you," She waved a hand dismissively. "You are not. You rely on fear to control people, and that's not gonna work here. Wanna know why?" She didn't wait for an answer. "_I am not afraid of you_. As long as you have what belongs to me, my powers are still mine to command, because you are _too scared_ to try and fight me for control. I can see it in your mind just as clearly as you can see it in mine." The man stood, growling, but she just kept on smiling.

"You may think it true, but even you are no match for the powers of my masters!" He raised his hands quickly, not giving her time to react. "Darkwave!" A ripple of black magic blasted out from the palm of his hand, crashing into the blonde before she could raise a shield, and sending her flying. The last thought she had before the darkness over came her was that she had to protect the treasures, that she couldn't fail Will, because this was all he had.

* * *

><p>Dante ducked a blow, parried, and attacked, keeping half his attention on Caliban's fight and half on his own. He was vaguely aware when the Aztec grabbed the Bonelasher that he was fighting and forced it to impale itself on its own jagged claws, grinning as his own opponent was affected by his titan's demise. Will was facing the other suit, a stern mask keeping his emotions in check, that mask the only thing stopping him from either running from or recklessly attacking the Seeker in the next room. <em>Rassimov<em>. The destroyer of his family, right there, so close, but he could not take revenge, he was too _weak_.

A flurry of blows, and the suit before him fell, and the Casterwill found himself wishing for a moment that it was Rassimov at his feet instead, before an attack from the Impet drew his attention away again. A swift Bubblelift dispatched the titan, sending it bobbing away to crash into its Seeker, and Will smirked before losing himself in the battle once more, fighting to stand back to back with Dante in the middle of the room.

* * *

><p>Neither, amidst the noise and din of the fight, heard Rassimov call out the name of the titan that rested within Lancelot's amulet. "Your speed and might are mine to command, valiant warrior! Come forth, Cavalier!" The knight appeared in a burst of holy white light, his flaming swords casting light into even the darkest corners, wings beating a steady, comforting rhythm in the still air of the chamber. The not-eyes of the titan fell upon Rassimov, and for a moment, both were still.<p>

Then Cavalier shook his mighty head, his wings taunt, his swords as a burning cross before him. A barrier of white fire sprang up about him, laced with blue and grey, and as Rassimov's dark magic tried to reach him, he screamed his defiance in words that only Cherit could hear or understand.

"The titan," Rassimov looked at his hands in a mixture of horror and amazement. "It will not Bond with me?! None dare resist me!"

A light, teasing voice came from behind. "We do." Dante and Will lounged on either side of the door, grinning at him. Rassimov's dark eyes burned with hate, but Will did not flinch, instead glaring back with equal ferocity, trembling with anger.

"Dante Vale." The black-haired Seeker acknowledged them with a cool tone. "William Casterwill. I have studied you both a great deal." A surge of hatred had Will take a step forwards, but his mentor and friend placed a hand on his shoulder, and with a soft shake of his head, sent him back. Will could see in his golden eyes that Dante knew just who this man was, what he had done, what he could _do._ And he could also see that his friend knew he was not ready to face him. Not yet. That day would come soon, but it was not this day. With a nod, and great reluctance, the Casterwill stepped back, and let his mentor approach the dark Seeker alone.

It took no more than a second to see that Dante, for the first time Will had ever known, was severely outmatched. Every attack was beaten back, all powers deflected or absorbed, and within a minute Dante was on his knees, panting, and fighting to get up. Will's eyes stretched wide with horror and fear.

"If these treasures are not mine to posses," Rassimov roared, his temper worn thin by Loki's words and Dante's actions. "No one shall have them!" At his words, Will looked up from where he was trying to get Dante back on his feet. "Darkvoid!"

A chill swept over the emerald-eyed lad as the floor disappeared into a black, spiraling void, everything falling down, down into darkness and ruin, little sparks of blue and grey disappearing into the darkness. His heart stopped. He had heard that this power existed, but, how could it be? This was something humans were not meant to wield-

His thoughts stopped as the pit spread out, pulling them towards it. He slung Dante's arm over his shoulder, realised they wouldn't be fast enough, then slapped the man about the face till a semblance of consciousness lit up his amber eyes. "_RUN!_"

It was over within moments. The void swallowed all- the titan, the table, the books and papers, even some of the bricks from the walls. With a grim smile and a bitter laugh, Rassimov disappeared into its depths, though Will knew he would return. The void would never consume its master. As he leant back against the rocky ruins of the chamber's shattered remains, he sighed, relieved to be alive, and cold to the bone as he realised just how strong Rassimov was compared to he or Dante. He was deadly, like a spider in the middle of a web that no one else could walk along.

This man had had over a thousand lifetimes to master the Seeker arts and powers.

What chance did they two mortals stand against him?

His heart stopped, and he froze as if turned to ice or stone.

Wait.

_Two _mortals? Where was Loki?!

With a cry as if his heart was being torn from his chest, the Casterwill lurched to his feet, back into the antechamber that had once housed Cavalier. "Loki?! _LOKI!_" Dante, realising what had happened, was at his side in an instant, all pain forgotten, ignored, till she was found.

His heart sank almost immediately. There was no sign of her. She was gone.

"No." He breathed, the word nearly soundless, sinking to his knees as the truth hit him, a knife twisting, burning, in his chest, hurting all the more for the numb ice that froze the rest of him. "S-she's _gone?_" His emerald eyes found Dante's, as the man padded slowly, as if in a dream, to help him to his feet. "_Nothing_ could have survived that...And if she did survive..." He shuddered.

When the Organization were involved, there were things that were much worse then death.

"Will!" Cherit appeared around a corner. "Will! Here, _here!_"

Without a word, the Casterwill raced after the little creature, over a mound of bricks torn from their place by the Darkvoid's power. There she lay, still save for the soft and steady rise and fall of her chest. Alive. Safe. _Here._

Ignoring the stinging of his hands as he torn his skin scrabbling over the bricks, Will lifted the blonde into his arms, standing unsteadily to pass her to Dante. A hysterical laugh tried to force its way past his lips, but he managed to suppress it into a weak, faint smile, which he saw Dante return.

"I swear," Said the man softly. "She is going to turn me grey long before my time." Will nodded soundlessly, then stilled as Dante continued. "This...is a secret room. In their hurry, the Organization may have overlooked the biggest treasure of all. It's the inscription for a power." He looked down at his student. "Will, go copy it. I've got Loki, it's okay." Reluctant, and hesitant, the boy nodded, climbing over more bricks to stand before the symbols on the wall.

His voice soon drifted back to Dante, who had moved to sit on one of the remaining benches, the blonde cradled in his arms. "It's not just any power!" His voice held a tremor of excitement. "It's one of the secret powers of the Casterwill nobility! With the cipher that Cherit and I found, I should be able to decode it."

The auburn nodded, then realised that Will couldn't see him. "Well, do it and do it quick. More suits will be on their way and we're in no condition for a fight." His raised voice woke the girl in his arms, and he found himself looking down into bleary blue eyes, filled with trust and relief, knowing she was safe now that they were there. "Hold on, Loki. We'll get you out of here."

A quiet sigh was his reply, before the eyes shut again, the girl having no energy to keep them open. "I..." She fell silent, then opened her eyes and looked up at Dante. He felt his heart stop as a glimmer of blue-grey mist seemed to flicker across them. He blinked, and it disappeared, the russet-haired man deciding after a moment that he had imagined it. "I'm not afraid of him." Her voice was weak, but the core of strength that lay behind her words convinced him even then that she meant what she said.

He smiled gently down at her as she closed her eyes again, slipping away into the arms of sleep. "No, Loki, you weren't afraid. Even now, you've proven you're not a Seeker to be trifled with."

* * *

><p>She woke with a start, the pounding in her head sending darts of pain lancing through her skull at the bright light pouring through her curtains. With the distraction of the pain, it took Loki a moment to figure out where she was.<p>

The Paris safe house? How had she ended up here? The last she remembered... She shook her head, dispelling the image of the dark Seeker she had faced in the Chamber of Cavalier. Dante and Will had chased him off.

And yet, there was that nagging feeling at the back of her head, of something she had forgotten, a twinge of magic that said there was something missing. She pushed it away to think about later. For now, she wanted to find Dante and Will and make sure they were okay.

After getting changed and removing the rather pointless bandage from under her fringe, she set off the find the others. Following the sounds of voices, she padded down the stairs into the little sitting room of the house, and found both men on the sofa, talking to Guggenheim on the Holotome. She watched them for a moment, relieved they were safe, and looking them over.

"Seeing as Cavalier's last Seeker was Lancelot himself, it's no wonder he wouldn't Bond with a man like Rassimov." Will was saying, finishing the report. The blond on the other end of the line looked troubled, and with good reason, from what she could remember of the man's power. Rassimov, she was guessing, was the man she had tried to stop from taking the titan, who she also guessed was the Cavalier they were talking about.

"Are you sure the titan was," Guggenheim cast about for a word, faced with a situation he had never been in before- the destruction of a titan. "Destroyed?" He settled for finally.

Dante nodded. "Absolutely. There's no room for doubt. It was a terrifying power. Just witnessing it gave me chills for hours." If Dante's frank, blunt testimony was true, then this Rassimov was a very powerful Seeker. She thought for a moment about just what she had gotten herself into. She had enough enemies already, and now she'd gone and made yet another one by insulting a man even Dante was scared off. Corpse-breath indeed! That was a mistake she'd not make again, though she suspected the damage was done.

"I'd only heard rumors of such powers." Guggenheim was mulling the information, eyes clouded with thought. "I never thought they could exist."

Will nodded, face grave. "Rassimov is a man of exceptional abilities, and a certain...interest in my family. He has had many years to perfect his skills. No Seeker would be able to face him alone. We're lucky to be alive right now."

Loki, who had been about to announce her presence, froze. Okay, before, she was worried. Now, she was scared stiff. But then, she remembered, that was Rassimov's power. Fear. It was all he had. If she refused to be scared, then she would always have an advantage. She remembered, with a smirk, the _fear_ that had been in Rassimov's eyes when she called him out on that particular weakness. As long as Rassimov carried her...whatever it was (it crossed her mind briefly that she really needed to give it a name, the thing that was stolen), she would always be able to fight back.

Guggenheim, meanwhile, was nodding serious. "We're on top of it. I've put out an alert to all Seekers not to confront this man unless in a large group, and," He saw the grim looks on Dante and Will's faces. "Not even then if we can help it. Now, you'd best get some shut eye. It looks like you all could use it."

In the solemn silence that followed, Loki smiled, finally remembering what it was she had forgotten. She coughed lightly to get the attention of her teammates, only to find herself swamped by worried friends. Grinning at her, Will pulled her over to the coffee table, excitedly babbling in her ear.

"Loki! Are you going to be glad to hear this!" He laughed, delighted with whatever it was, before handing her a scrap of paper, with symbols at the top and a translation at the bottom. "Where's Eathon's journal? You used your head this time alright! The wall you went through hid a coded inscription for a power to restore damaged objects."

Taking the battered book out from her hip-pouch, Loki sat on the couch heavily, stunned. "O-okay," She stuttered, looking up at her beaming teammates with wide, child-like eyes. "I must have hit my head a bit harder than I thought, because...I just thought you said..." She fell silent, overwhelmed, looking down at her father's journal with tears in her eyes. Gently, Will sat down next to her, taking the power translation from her hands, re-reading it with glee.

"That's right." He said softly, sensing that Loki was a bit emotional. "If I can learn the Casterwill power, then I can fix Eathon's journal."

A wide, joyous smile grew on Loki's face, and with a laugh that was filled with wonder, she threw her arms around Will's neck. "Really? You mean it?" He nodded, grinning and laughing too, and she hugged him again, before picking up the journal and turning to the one page that was still legible- the one with her picture and her father's signature.

"This is it." She thought to herself. "The reason I became a Seeker. I'm going to do it. I'll find my dad!"

Then, she grinned up at her brunette friend. "Will, I think I have something in return that you're going to like. Come on!" She leapt to her feet, grabbing her coat, and gesturing for the others to do the same. "I've got something to show you!"

* * *

><p>Grabbing Will's hand, she retraced their steps of yesterday, leading them back to Lancelot's Mausoleum, but refused to answer any questions at all, with both infuriated and confused her companions. With Cherit on her shoulder, she padded back along the now empty halls, the traps now disabled, using Kipperin to carry them across the pit, the knights that once made a bridge having disappeared with the rest of the traps, till they stood before the doorway into Cavalier's chamber. Motioning for them to wait, she padded alone into the centre of the ruins.<p>

She knelt on the cold stone floor, eyes closed, and a soft blue-grey glow began to surround her, bubbling up from under her skin till its light cast beautiful dancing patterns across the walls and surroundings. Will watched with wonder, Dante the same, as Loki unleashed her true power.

The mist flowed from her to blossom on the floor and gather in corners, radiant and lovely in its splendor. Slowly at first, then faster, shapes began to appear, little shields becoming visible like bubbles catching the sunlight. With a sigh, the blonde opened her eyes, the mist shining in them, her skin glowing, the symbols around her neck now glowing with a welcoming light, as if they too wanted the power to go and be and do. Then she open her mouth, and she sang a song that had no words that they could hear, but felt in their hearts. It was a song of protection, of safety and security, calming and sure.

And then the spell, whatever it had been, was complete, and the blonde swayed as she stood, bracing herself on the table that was now beside her, knocking a book askew. She turned back to her teammates, smiling as if she was looking at the first sunrise after years of darkness. "I promised myself that I'd protect them." She said softly, her voice barely more than a whisper. "For you, Will."

The room was restored, everything that had been sucked into the void returned as it should be.

Will raced to her side as Loki staggered, clearly exhausted. He stared at her in amazement. "How did you...?" He trailed off, staring around in wonder.

"I used the mist." She grinned. "Rassimov might be all big and scary, but he can't control it when I'm two feet from him. He's not strong enough to fight me for control, because he's scared he'll _lose_. And, yeah, he's gone, but my magic's still here, where I left it. I shielded everything before he even had a chance to use his magic, whatever it was that he did. I asked Cavalier to help me distract him so I could protect the books and everything. I meant what I said. These belong to the Casterwill heir. They belong to you." She sat down on a renewed bench, waving him forwards. "Go on. He's waiting." Will looked at her confused, and she pointed down the room towards a small pedestal. "He only agreed when I told him about you after all."

Eyes wide, hands shaking, Will walked down the room as Dante came to stand by Loki, helping her to her feet, and quietly scolding her about exhausting herself by using powers so soon. With a deep breath, the doubts about his place as a Casterwill all coming back to him, the Casterwill heir reached out and picked up the amulet of his family.

A white aura appeared around him and the pendant, growing and growing until he was too bright to look at. A low voice, courteous and soft, ringing with the soft howl of loyalty and the song of steely strength, filled his mind.

"_Be welcome here, Son of my Master, Master of my Strength. I am yours to command, my liege._" Cavalier appeared in his mind, kneeling just as Loki had been, head bowed in respect. "_I will serve you on your quest, till the end of time._" A hint of humor coloured the titan's tone, confusing Will, but he brushed it aside with a smile.

"_I hope I will be a good master._"

"_If you are anything like the Lady says, then you will be, Lord Casterwill._"

* * *

><p>AN: I just liked Cavalier too much to destroy him. He's so cool! And HURRAY, Zhalia returns soon!<p> 


	63. Chapter 62 Ladies' Choice

AN: Love this episode. A definate favourite.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 62- Ladies' Choice Part 1

Cavalier was a welcome addition to the team. His knowledge of ancient customs and chivalry, along with the few bits and pieces of Casterwill lore that Lancelot had told him, proved to be the making of Will. All his doubts about his worth as a Casterwill and a Seeker began to fade. The fact that Loki put her complete and total trust in him didn't make things worse either.

The trip back to Venice had been a long one for the blonde. She'd spent most of it explaining exactly what had gone on between her and Rassimov, including her manipulation of his fear to get control over her powers- though she did warn that she would only be able to do so if Rassimov was nearby. Will's face when she told him that she had called the immortal 'Corpse-breath' was priceless, and well worth the lump on her head she had received in return.

Both he and Dante had understood the need for secrecy when discussing the true events of that day with the Huntik Foundation. People fear what they do not understand, and this mist power of Loki's was one of the most changeable, unknowable things Dante had ever encountered. For now, it was best kept a secret, until the world was ready to know.

Though, perhaps he could tell Metz on his visit tomorrow, if the older Seeker was awake or up to it. He might have an answer. Metz had seen many wondrous things in his many years. He might have seen something if not identical, then similar to the power his young friend possessed.

* * *

><p>However, this time, Dante actually remembered to tell said young friend that he would be gone for a few days, so she didn't worry when she woke up and found herself and Cherit all alone. Instead, prepared this time, she grabbed a bag and headed over to Will's.<p>

Which is why, mid-afternoon on the second day, she found herself in a bit of a predicament.

"Will is gonna freak!" She whispered to Cherit, looking down at the shattered piece in her hand. The pair were currently leaving Will to his studies, so he could 'concentrate', and had instead decided to play shogi, a sort of Japanese chess. And of course, Cherit had tripped Loki up when she was carrying the priceless antique board, breaking a piece.

And seeing as this was a _priceless antique_, there was no way the blonde could fix this without Will noticing. So, all in all, she was dead. Very much _dead._

Her day only got better when she heard footsteps she recognised coming down the hall. _Will_. Only, what he was calling whilst looking for her made her forget the fragments in her hand. "_Loki! _I've got it! _I think I've got it!_" He appeared at the door, then ran towards her with her father's journal in his hands, eyes lit up and hair mussed from where he had been running his hands through it in frustration. She grinned up at him, painful hope in her eyes, as the Casterwill lay the book on the table.

"You mean it? Really?" She placed the broken piece on the table as LeBlanche, obviously following his wayward pupil, padded quietly into the room. "Then what are you waiting for?! Try it, try it!"

Cherit smiled indulgently, rolling his eyes. "So much for our game of shogi."

Blue eyes turned to him. "But, Cherit, now we'll finally have our answers! The Amulet of Will, and the Legendary Titans, and maybe even where Dad was last headed!" Will nodded excitedly.

"Alright." He took a deep breath. "Here goes. Findshape!" A soft blue light appeared around him and the book, gathered there for a few moments, then vanished. The book looked no different. The teens and the mini titan frowned at each other, then looked back at the book. Will took another deep breath. "Findshape!" Again, nothing happened. Just to check, Loki picked up the book and leafed through its ruined pages. She looked at Will, pursing her lips and shaking her head as she set it down again. The spell had done nothing to help. With a growl of annoyance and frustration, Will held out his hands once more. "Findshape, Findshape, _Findshape!_" The glow around his hands flared bright, then disappeared, but still, nothing had happened.

The boy flopped back into his armchair, defeated. "It was working this morning!" He sighed, disappointed, but Loki smiled kindly at him.

"It's alright, Will. We'll figure it out!"

LeBlanche stepped up to the table, reaching out and plucking something from it before holding it out to his master. It was the broken shogi piece. Will raised an eyebrow at his butler, but he just smiled and held out the piece again. "Please, Master William. Go on."

With a smile that said he was only listening because it was LeBlanche, Will stretched out his hand. "Urm, Findshape?" The blue light appeared around his hands and the piece once more, but this time, the little tablet floated gently in the air before landing with a 'plop' back on LeBlanche's hand, now repaired and looking as if it had never been damaged in the first place.

Loki gave a delighted laugh. "See?" She crowed softly. "It _does_ work!" Her eyes turned to regard the book once more. "It's probably because Dad's journal is so complicated. I mean, not all of the pieces are there, and everything has run so much...Plus, there's a whole lot more of the book than there is of the shogi piece."

LeBlanche nodded. "I believe better concentration might solve this problem. Why don't you study meditation with Santiago? He is a master of discipline." He suggested, turning to point at the man sitting, or rather, doing the splits between two chairs, a few paces away. His eyes close, face calm and serene, he looked more like he was lounging on the most comfortable of seats than doing something most men would find extremely painful. The butler led the teens over to observe the man's technique, talking quietly.

"See?" He told his young charges- after seeing his master's devotion to the blonde, he had promptly begun to see her as one of his wards rather than a friend. "He's not bothered at all, even though we're talking right next to him."

Loki peered closer, intrigued. "He does look pretty chilled."

"I'll say." Will grinned, leaning against an armchair as the others crowded around his bodyguard. "Once he's doing his 'zen thing', he probably wouldn't care if you set his pants on fire!"

The blonde giggled. "As much as I'd love to see that," She said with a smile. "I'd rather not get on his bad side. I think I'll leave him to mediate, for today."

The teens left with a called goodbye and a wave, to go and check if Dante had returned yet, leaving a smiling butler behind. The grey-haired man turned back to his younger companion. The man's dark eyes had opened, and were looked after his master solemnly.

"I do believe," He said in his quiet voice. "That I just had a lucky escape."

* * *

><p><em>Metz Country Estate, Germany<em>

Dante paused in the doorway, eyeing the room within as another might eye a vicious dog, or a poisonous snake. Metz's condition had gotten worse. Much worse.

The last time he had visited his friend, a few days before the team's trip to Romania, Metz had been coughing, yes, but awake, active, _alive_. Now, there was a thin curtain hiding him from the rest of the world, more machines than ever crowded uselessly around his bedside, so many that Dante had to clear a path to his mentor's side. He paused again, trying to get his words out past his fear. He'd lost so many people, too many people, he couldn't lose Metz, not now, not so soon after _she'd_ walked away.

"Metz?" He managed at last, his quiet and hushed voice seeming loud after the silence, which was broken only by the muffled, steady _'bee-beep'_ of the machinery. "Can you hear me?" For a moment, all was still, and the auburn began to worry, cold chill fingers grasping at his heart, that Metz was not ever going to answer, ever again, the child-like fear that all silence brings, but then there was movement beyond the curtain he had been told not to move. A hand gently, shakily, parted the white muslin cloth. Dante, amber eyes wide and pale white-gold with fear, took it in both of his own, remembering times when he was younger, when he had been afraid, but it had been Metz that had taken his hands to comfort him. Unable to see his friend's face, he looked instead at the hand he had been given.

A shock like cold water fell upon him. The once tanned, healthy skin was puckered and wrinkled like an old man's, a scattering of dark, sickly, menacing purple patches laying here and there amongst the prominent veins and bones, like living, evil shadows draining away Metz's life. "I..." Dante swallowed heavily and began again. "I had no idea it had gotten so bad."

There was no answer, no light-hearted banter, no laugh. That scared him even more than the condition of his mentor's hand. Throughout all of his... illness, Metz had maintained a positive, cheerful attitude. That optimism had kept Dante going through his darkest moments. The fact that it was gone meant that Metz was much, much worse than even his student could have possibly imagined.

Suddenly, a soft rustling broke through his thoughts. Met'z other hand had pushed through the curtain to reach out to Dante. Wide-eyed, the russet-haired man looked on as the hand turned over, revealing its prize.

An old wooden key, intricately carved, with a delicately molded handle, and wrapped around its length, a crumbling, weathered, ancient piece of parchment, the colours of the ink making the image on the other side just showing through. With trembling hands, Dante reached out and took the items, and as soon as he did so, the hands disappeared back within their fabric protection.

Knowing this meant goodbye for now, Dante got up and walked away.

* * *

><p>"There <em>has <em>to be a cure for this curse _somewhere!_" He growled to himself, inspecting both the key and the map that came with it with an almost frantic urgency. A cool, cold voice came from behind, and he turned to meet the cat-like emerald eyes of the one nurse who had stayed throughout Metz's illness. He did not know her name, had never asked for it, and she had never offered it, and so to each other both remained a mystery save for their unwavering dedication to the man in the next room.

"So you say." The woman known to him only as 'Lady S' padded over, her sweet, harmless nurse's uniform hiding her true distant and reserved nature. She tossed her rich brown locks over her shoulder with a disapproving flick of her head, British accent strong with reproach. "But I hope you're not going to tromp halfway across the world because a delusional old man handed you a map to who knows where!"

Dante looked across at her, and realised that while they were both completely devoted to helping Metz, they were two very different people. He raised the map with a mischievous smile and a determined spark in his eyes. "Based on this coastline," He grinned. "I'd say Turkey."

Without another word to the disgruntled nurse, he left to gather his team for the most important mission they could ever have.

_Saving Metz._

* * *

><p><em>10,000 Feet Above Sea Level<em>

_Black Sea, Turkey_

The jet soared high above the clouds, its ghostly autopilot flying with ease and confidence born of the experience of millions of different Seekers, powered and taught by their memories. Will had improved the spell for their trip- now, the ghost-pilot would avoid all other aircraft, its own magic now mixed with a detection spell the Casterwill had managed to decode from the books Loki had saved for him. While many of the spells were ones he vaguely recognised as being family counterparts- like Kindlestrike, which was akin to Raypulse, and Sacredblade, which seemed to be a much stronger version of Honourguard, capable of not only blocking attacks, but reflecting them back onto their Seeker- there were others that he had only ever heard rumors of. The brunette had since vowed to learn and master them all, but had dedicated himself to Findshape ever since, determined to fix the journal for Loki.

Lost in his thoughts, the Casterwill's gaze turned to regard the girl in question, who also seemed distracted. She was staring out the window at the lands and seas and clouds rushing by, absent-mindedly tapping the symbols ringing her throat. Will wondered what she was thinking about, but knew better than to ask. If it was something serious- and her meditative expression said that it was- then she would just give her bright, mega-watt smile and shrug and tell him it was 'nothing', or that she was 'fine'.

In truth, Loki was feeling far from fine. Her head and heart were all messed up after the mission to Paris, and the news that had followed it. Painful hope mixed with dark fear, and somewhere within her she felt a sense of peace and acceptance, and worry, and she had absolutely no idea why. Well, she had some idea. The hope was for her journal, for finding her father, for picking up on a trail even she had begun to think was cold. The fear was about Rassimov, the thing which had been stolen, and the ache inside her that said that it had been stolen from her very _soul,_ which is what she had decided to call it for now. It scared her that something that her heart said was so vital could be taken. It scared her that it might happen to the others- could someone else take Will's 'soul', or Dante's, or Zhalia's? And the acceptance? Some part of her had settled since she had won the fight for control with Rassimov, and wielded her powers with true control for the first time ever. She was worried about Dante, though. This mission was important to him, she could tell it by the dark shade his eyes had turned of late, but he hadn't said what it was that was worrying him, and that worried her, because she cared about him and if he wasn't saying anything then it meant it was important.

Reaching a stalemate of sorts, she decided to put all thoughts of her father and her journal out of mind for now, till later, and as for the other matters, well, all she could do was protect her teammates and friends, and fight with every fibre of her being whenever Rassimov decided to show his dead-white face again.

A quiet, serious voice startled both teens from their thoughts. "Seekers," Immediately, they both knew Dante was in 'leader mode' or 'mission mode', and faced him without word or complaint, or even a snigger at his quirky way of opening mission briefings. "We have a mission." He sank into the seat opposite them, placing his Holotome carefully on the table before opening it to reveal the map that Metz had given him. "The Legendary Titan of Body: Retrieve the Legendary Titan of Body, Behemoth." His golden eyes settled on his young friends, solemn and steady. "This is our most important mission to date." _Even though I haven't told you the real reason it's so important,_ He added silently in his mind, guilt for the deception stirring at the back of his mind. There was no need to tell the teens about Metz. They would only worry, for him and his mentor, Loki especially. Although, he thought as he looked at the map, plotting the long trek ahead, that didn't mean he couldn't tell them about Metz at all. It might actually do him some good to tell them some stories about his mentor. It would be nice to remember the good old days.

_Good old days?_ That made him feel old...

Cherit's hoarse croak snapped him out of his ponderings. "Judging from your map, it looks like we're headed into the Turkish wilderness!"

Everyone politely pretended not to see Loki pale at the thought of the pure _size_ of spiders in jungles.

Dante nodded. "If legend and historical accounts agree, the Greek legends of the civalisation of Amazon women originated in this area." He tapped the heart of the jungle with a finger. "There, we'll find one of the three Legendary Titans used by the first Seeker, Casterwill."

Will nodded, his eyes lit up with excitement, explaining to Loki, who was probably the only Seeker child in the world who hadn't heard of them, not even as a bed-time story. "The Legendary Titans of Mind, Body and Spirit. They're so powerful that they're like fairytales, even to Seekers."

Their mentor nodded, taking up the tale. "Seekers have been chasing these stories throughout the ages, but I've got a hunch that they're more than just a myth." Loki grinned. Dante's hunches were hardly ever wrong, and if her experience as a Seeker so far had taught one thing and one thing only, it would be that _all the stories were true_. She had yet to meet a titan or mission that didn't explain one legend or another, so it made sense to her that even Seeker fairytales were true.

Will saw the eager glint in her eye, and added a warning to the story. "But to use a Legendary Titan without Casterwill's Ancient Amulet of Will, you'd be put under a terrible curse." Dante looked away, his mind tormented by this flippant reminder of his friend's condition- the true nature of which Metz had only recently told him. That he had removed Behemoth from its true resting place, despite the warnings, that something had driven him to do so, a threat to the entire world. And he had paid the price, been inflicted with a terrible curse, but not before he had hidden it here, where the map was leading them. He felt more than saw that the teens were looking at him with unreserved worry. "Was it something I said?" He heard the boy whisper to the blonde, anxious, and he forced himself to push his dark thoughts away and force a watery smile.

"No, it's nothing." He shrugged. "I was...just thinking about how much easier this mission would be if we had Zhalia." It hurt to say her name, when she was so far away, but the sharpness of the pain drove away the numbing fear of Metz's curse. He missed the sound of her name. It was good to hear it again, though it would be better to hear her voice. He shrugged again, though Loki's bright, sympathetic smile soothed his aching heart. He trusted in the blue-haired Seeker that she would, in time, return to him, when she felt she was ready. They would be waiting. He would be waiting.

* * *

><p><em>Zhalia's Apartment, Rotterdam, Netherlands<em>

A week.

It seemed a lifetime ago.

A week since she had almost killed her true family, and turned her false one to stone. A week since she had looked into Dante's golden eyes atop the Castle of Vlad Dracul and found herself. A week since she had battled her sister and brother and nearly destroyed them both.

And a week since they had forgiven her, opened their arms to her, watched her go with sad eyes and empty hearts and wanted her to stay.

It had been a week since she had almost betrayed everyone. And she just couldn't understand why everyone forgave her.

Zhalia sighed, tapping her pen against her lips, a nervous habit, before writing a little more in her diary. Although Klaus would never again learn secrets from its pages, it was a routine she had kept for most of her life, and it was a rock in the stormy sea that had become of her life. A soft growl at her right made her smile, and she patted Gareon's head gently, letting him comfort her the only way he knew how.

But then the dark thoughts returned and, restless, she rolled over on her sofa to lie on her back, watching the ceiling light up and darken again as cars drove past far below her eighth storey window. When she thought of what she could have done to them, to _Dante..._ She just couldn't forgive herself. She had been one step away from killing them, killing _him_. That was unforgivable. She could have turned back at anytime, listened to the voice inside her heart that had said that she belonged with them and not Klaus, but instead she had teetered selfishly on the brink before allowing herself to fall.

But, maybe... The coffee-orbed woman allowed herself a smile as a new plan formed. Maybe she could make it up to them. If there was only some way she could reach them...

A bright spark lit up her mind as she remembered the days in Venice, when Loki had disappeared. She remembered handing Dante her phone, and receiving his own in return, in order to _keep in touch_. Her smile growing, she fished her phone out of her shoe- old habits die hard- and switched it on. Taking a deep breath, she hit the button to call Dante's number.

A few seconds later, and her smile died. Wherever Dante and the team were, they were nowhere near a phone signal. She'd gone straight to voicemail. There went that idea.

But love was not to be so easily deterred. Clicking through the phone's settings, Zhalia tried to access the Organization files through their signal database. She wasn't surprised when her phone was blocked. No access, huh? She smiled slyly. She could still hack in, and find out what everyone was up to. Her years of service had taught her lessons well- a back door, no matter where it is or what it leads into, is _always_ useful. Especially when no one else wants it, or knows that it is there.

* * *

><p><em>The Professor's Castle, Outside Prague, the Czech Republic<em>

Rassimov bowed his head, and while disgusted and outraged with himself, could not stop himself from leaning forwards to kiss the offered ring before bowing his head again. The Professor smirked down at him, his servant, the one who many thought would have been a master, before waving his hand and giving the black-eyed man permission to speak.

"Sir," The cold, dead voice was at war with the warm, green countryside that could be seen from the balcony they were standing on. "The day we have been waiting for has arrived." The dog at his side growled at him, still angry at him for the day when he destroyed his favourite ball, but Rassimov ignored it in favour of a bigger problem. The Professor's wrath.

"Tell me, Rassimov," The old man's voice was deceptively calm. "Why have you failed me? You come here to tell me that the Legendary Titans have resurfaced, but do you bring Miss. Lambert with you, in chains? Tell me, perhaps she is hiding around the corner, or under the stairs." The unseeing eye narrowed, almost glowing with white fire, as the Professor glared down at his minion. "Where is she?"

"She...escaped." Rassimov bowed his head, cursing his luck. He'd caught the Professor in a bad mood already. This was going to make it worse. "She is learning to access her powers again. Miss. Lambert is a quick study- Klaus's overuse of her...possession has given her more than enough time to understand what it does. She used this knowledge to regain her powers in Paris, and managed to keep me busy till her teammates came to help."

"Really, is that so?" Rassimov prepared himself for the inevitable blow, but it never came. Instead, he risked a glance up to see that the Professor was looking thoughtful, excited even, for a man who never showed any emotions except anger and greed. "She's that powerful so soon? This is good, very good. I'd wanted to test her limits but this will do nicely..." The eyes snapped back to him. "Retrieve her, Rassimov. I am giving you this final warning, if only because you have unknowingly helped me with your pathetic failure."

Rassimov nodded slowly, relieved. "Dante Vale and his team are advancing on the Legendary Titan Behemoth as we speak."

The Professor lifted one meaty hand to admire his ring, smiling evilly all the while. "Yes, I can feel it. It's very close now. Only with these Legendary Titans can I achieve my ultimate goal. Do what ever is necessary to get them." He turned away to look out across the land, and waved a hand. "You are dismissed."

* * *

><p>Rassimov growled ancient curses to himself as he walked through the castle towards the main gates. As much as he was loathe to admit it, Miss. Lambert's words held some truth. He had no wish to go against her magic again, especially as she <em>knew<em> she could use it this time.

But he was the immortal Rassimov, death-bringer, black-hearted, so he could not voice his fears. And he was afraid. There was something about her powers that seemed to make them the opposite of his own dark magic. Fighting against her was like fighting with fire against water. A hot enough could defeat the water, but enough water could put out the fire. He had no way of knowing which way the battle would go.

And not knowing was what scared him most of all.

Shaking his head to get rid of the nagging thoughts, he clicked his fingers at a suit, and he scuttled forwards to give his leader the machine in his hands. Rassimov opened it with a smirk. "Technonomican, compile and display our intelligence on the location of our Foundation _friends_." A map appeared, and the man grinned like a wolf. This time, he would show that little brat the meaning of _fear_.

* * *

><p><em>Turkish Wilderness<em>

"We're almost there." Dante called back from his place at the head of the team. Loki grinned at him, adjusting her neckwear as she thought, a replacement for tapping the glowing symbols beneath. While Dante and Will were still in the same outfits they usually wore, Loki had decided that the jungle was no place for a skirt- too many opportunities for spiders or other such creepy crawlies to climb up. Instead, she had decided on a pair of cream explorer's shorts, a white vest top, a thin, almost see through blue pullover. A soft blue scarf to shield her markings from view- though who there was to see in the middle of the jungle she had no idea- and the blonde had decided she was ready for action. Her amulets still hung safely from her belt pouch, her father's journal and corral puzzle left safely at home. There was no room for luxuries on a trip like this.

"Some force is pushing against us. It must be some kind of ancient power." Her mentor said with a frown, and she frowned back, confused. Cherit, from his place in the air beside her, shrugged.

"Aye. Looks like no man has set foot in these woods for hundreds of years." The girl sighed, stretching her arms above her head and, in an attempt to stave off the boredom of endless marching, began to list in her mind as many spells as she could, even ones she had no idea how to do. She really had no idea what they were talking about. Then, an idea hit her.

"Exactly. No _man_. The Amazon tribes were all women, right? They didn't like men coming near their village. That must be why you guys are feeling it and I'm not."

A low grumbling broke through her thoughts, and she looked back to see that Will had finally caught up after tripping on a tree root. She smiled sympathetically. The Casterwill hadn't taken well to the jungle- something about it being too hot, even though she, an Irish girl, was doing fine. "Yeah, of course, you can't feel the intensely negative forcefield that is generally directed over this entire area. Besides, the only map is the one Metz gave Dante." The boy muttered, the weather putting him in a foul mood. The blonde smiled at her mentor, remembering the many tales he had told them throughout the journey of his days as a young Seeker, following Metz almost like she was following him. Deciding that enough was enough, Loki looked down at Will's leg, smiling as she realised he still had a vine wrapped around it, before meeting his eyes seriously. Maybe a joke might cheer Will up, or at least shut up his bad mood for a bit.

"I think that snake around your leg is poisonous."

The effect was instant. Will hopped around on one leg, madly waving the other one to dislodge the 'snake'. When he noticed Loki nearly dying of laughter, he stopped to take a closer look at his attacker. With a sigh and a half-smile, he bent down to pull the vine off.

"I guess I deserved that." He shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I've been a bit of a jerk, haven't I?"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." The blonde grinned at him, remembering the days when Will would have just glared and stayed silent, simmering with anger, rather than sighing and accepting that he was also in the wrong. "I get that the jungle doesn't agree with you, but you'll soon acclimatize."

As they laughed with each other, neither noticed Dante suddenly tensing, seeing figures moving through the trees.

Cherit flew to land on Will's shoulder, grinning. "The great Seeker, defeated by a twig!" He said with mock surprise, knowing that laughter and fun is what would pull the boy out of his sulk with the forest. "I never thought I'd see the day." The combined efforts of titan and girl worked, and the brunette laughed.

"Hey, that twig had the element of surprise!" Loki defended her friend playfully, when a chill, hair-raising tickle at the base of her neck moving upwards had her freezing in fear. She saw Will freeze as well, Dante moving closer with her eyes fixed on a point at the top of her head. "What is it?" She knew there was something on her head, and she wanted it _gone._ "What is it? Get it _off!_"

The auburn paused in front of her, reaching forwards slowly and calmly. "Just stay still, it's just a little, tiny horsefly." Wide eyes looking up at him, Loki took a deep breath and tried to stay as still as possible, a hard thing when she wanted to run around screaming her head off. While spiders were her true enemy, she wasn't much of a fan of the rest of the other super-sized bugs in the jungle either.

Suddenly, she jerked her head back as _something_ came streaking towards her from the edge of her vision, gasping as Dante caught it, revealing it to be a long, thin blow-dart about as long as her hand and as thick as one of Cherit's legs. "T-that's some fly!" The true bug flew away as a band of warrioresses appeared, ringing the clearing and cutting off all escape. The team moved quickly to stand in a triangle, shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. The blonde sighed, eyeing their opponents and coming to the correct conclusion.

"These Amazons don't look very mythological to me." She quipped to her friends, and Dante nodded slowly, realising there wasn't a man amongst them, something that helped them all to understand just who they were fighting. "We'd better hit them before they stick us!" Loki reached for her titans, but her mentor stopped her, eyes still focused on the Amazons.

"No titans, not in front of them." He told his team quietly. "We don't know how they'll react. Besides," His lips twitched as if he was trying not to smile. "We're trying to make friends."

The women warriors took a step forwards, and Dante sunk into a fighting stance, his students following suit. "So," Will narrowed his eyes. "We're going to try to make friends by hitting them with our fists, instead?"

Dante grinned. "Well, it's worth a try, right?"

A blonde warrior carrying an axe, her more elaborate armor and unique weapon marking her as the leader of the band of spear-wielding women, stepped forwards. "Men are invading our sanctuary!" She roared. "Take them!"

The russet-haired Seeker looked to his right. "Loki, I have a hunch this is going to be mainly up to you." Instead of complaining or questioning him, the girl just nodded, mouth set in a firm line, eyes filled with determination. A rain of arrows stopped all further conversation, as Dante leapt up into the tree-tops to avoid them, and the teens ducking low.

* * *

><p>A short distance away, Cherit cowered beneath a fall tree, ears flat against his skull and tail between his legs. "Dante said no titans." He squeaked as an arrow came too close for comfort. "I guess that means me!"<p>

* * *

><p>Swinging down from his branch, Dante grabbed the bows of the archers as he fell past, before using them to knock their owners out. A trio of warriors charged the teens, and Will and Loki shared a look before nodding and standing their ground side by side. One of the warriors darted forwards, lunging with her spear, but her target jumped out of the way, landing on the tip of the weapon with a smile and a laugh. "See?" Loki crowed to Will, who was looking on with pride and respect as the other warriors' eyes stretched wide and they came to a halt. "I've been picking up a few things here and there." She jumped up again, whipping out a leg to smack the spear from her opponent's grip before grabbing it and using it to knock her out with a swift <em>'whack'<em> to the head.

Will moved past her to deal with the second warrior, Loki throwing him her staff- the spear head now snapped off after she jumped on it- so that he could defend himself. The leader, spotting what seemed like a weaker, defenseless target, charged her with a yell. The blondes circled each other for a moment as the younger ducked and dodged blows, before a gust of air at her back warned Loki that the final warrior was running at her from behind. Unable to take her eyes off the woman before her, a wave of relief washed over her as Dante appeared at her back, silent as always, blocking the stabbing blow with his forearm, and using the spear-wielder's imbalence against them, pushing them over before pulling their spear from their grasp with his foot, letting it rest there whilst he thought.

Seeing Loki's predicament, he shouted some quick encouragement before sending the spear her way with a flick of his foot, the girl spinning to catch it, moving in a tight circle to catch the leader's next blow on her weapon. Surprised that her opponent had managed to stop her, the leader scowled, a harsh light on her strong features. "I am second strongest in my village." Loki paused, surprised as well, that the Amazon had recognised what language the team were speaking, and that she knew it as well. "You will _fall_!" With another bellow, the blonde charged, the Irish girl meeting her head on with a reckless grin.

Grappling with each other, Loki laughed, looking up into the green-grey eyes a few inches from her own. "Never!" The pair flew apart again before meeting in with the loud _'clack'_ of wood on wood.

Meanwhile, Dante's warrior had made the bad decision to get back up, and was being given a kick to the chin for her troubles. Satisfied that she was out for the count, the auburn paused to look around, seeing that Will had also dealt with his warriors, leaning lightly on his staff as a got his breath back. A soft rustle caught Dante's attention, and he turned to see the last warrior peeking out of the bushes, her blowpipe parting the leaves as she prepared to strike. Her target was Will.

Grabbing a branch, Dante yelled a warning to his student, racing to get to his side in time. "Will! Look out!" He was still too far away when a quiet _'hah'_ told him the dart had been fired. The brunette twisted, spinning his staff so that it formed a circle in the air before him, stopping only when he felt a _'thud'_ jar his arms. He stopped, looking in horror at the blow-dart embedded in his weapon before he saw the blowpiper take aim again. He followed her gaze, and his eyes widened.

"Loki! Move, _NOW!_"

The blonde girl's eyes darted to meet his, and her eyes filled with fear as she saw the dart in his staff. _"I can't dodge,"_ She thought, desperately, as the older warrior's strength and age advantage forced her knees to bend, holding her in place. "_I've got no choice!_" With a last surge of strength, Loki pulled her weapon from the grip of the leader's axe, swiping her legs out from under her before dropping her spear and raising her hands, all the in space of a few seconds. "Honourguard!" The blow dart shattered against the hasty pink-gold shield, and Loki sighed, relieved, before turning slowly to face the Amazons. Most of them had managed to get back to their feet, others melting out from behind trees and bushes to join their fellows.

And all of them were staring at her...in wonder? Loki surreptitiously began to edge towards where Will and Dante were standing.

"Can it be? A female Seeker?" Something about the leader's amazed statement made the blonde pause. Did she just call her a Seeker? Not a magician or demon or witch, but _Seeker?_ From across the clearing, her azure eyes met with Will's emerald and Dante's gold. Maybe these women could be trusted...

Will turned to his mentor with a shrug. "I guess they know all about Seekers then." Dante nodded, thinking, and wondering how they could know...Unless, Metz...Did they know from him?

The leader turned her fierce eyes upon Loki once more. "If you _are_ a Seeker, where are your titans?" A hoarse voice came from behind.

"Do I count?" Cherit asked, flying closer, having deemed it safe now the fighting had stopped. The blonde axe warrior peered at him, confused.

"But," She frowned. "You are so small!" Cherit crossed his arms with a _'huff'_ and a scowl, insulted. A bright flash of multicoloured light engulfed the clearing, with Amazons turning their faces away in fear and awe. When it had vanished, Loki stood proud before them with her titans at her back.

Knowing that this was the moment which decided her team's fate, Loki also knew that a show of force was the only thing that the Amazons would respect. After sharing a quick look with Dante to check her plan, and receiving a nod of encouragement, she had summoned _all_ her titans, hoping that the fact that they wouldn't be fighting would allow her to keep her strength up. Freelancer took her right, his shield positioned slightly in front of her as always, ready to defend his Seeker. Hoplite stood by her left, and the Amazons stared in astonishment as one of their own legends roared and impatiently pawed the ground with his lion feet. Kipperin hovered near her back, his wings' steady beating the only sound in the silent jungle. Springer took his place on Loki's left shoulder, bright eyes curious and inquisitive, as Cherit flew to perch on her right.

However, it was Lindorm, curled around to loom protectively over his Seeker's head, that held the attention and eyes of the women warriors. Snarling and glaring with his moss-green eyes, he was clearly a dangerous titan not to be messed with. And that, in the eyes of the Amazons, meant his Seeker must be incredibly strong.

The blonde bowed to Loki, her fists crossed over her chest in a sign of respect. "Then it is true. You are a Seeker." She straightened, her face solemn and eyes steady. "I am Derimacheia, attendant of queens, though I understand some outsiders may find it difficult to say. As a fellow warrior, you may call me Derima." Her eyes fell on the men standing to one side of the clearing. "These must be your servants."

Loki tensed, seeing Will's indignant rage building in his eyes, but a swift kick from Dante silenced him. The auburn, a hidden spark of mischief in his eyes that only Loki could see, bowed deeply. "We live to serve our lady, in any way that we can." The blonde nearly laughed when Will begrudgingly bowed as well, his sullenness quickly hidden behind a calm mask.

With a wave of her hand, Loki recalled her titans, thanking them for their service. Lindorm had been all to happy to help, especially when he had got to act all mean and intimidating. While he was no longer bloodthirsty, the bear-dragon did find some fun in scaring people and showing off. Derimacheia turned back to her after instructing her women in a rippling language that melded almost seamlessly with the noises of the jungle. The warrioresses immediately began to bustle Will and Dante away, and the blonde suddenly wondered what kind of accommodation the Amazons would have for _men_. She faced Derima with worry.

"While they may be my servants," She said quickly, and wincing in her head at how strange it felt to call her friends that. "They are also my companions, teachers, protectors and guides. I wish for them to be treated as equal. To me, they are invaluable friends. I would not have them harmed or mistreated in anyway." The blonde had a moment to briefly wonder where the heck this formal language was coming from before the warrior nodded, and called something out to her tribeswomen. They nodded back, then left, taking Dante and Will with them. Loki prayed they would be okay.

"Noble warrior," The Irish girl turned to find Derima looking at her. "You have not told me your name. Is it not custom in the outside world to tell your name to friends and acquaintances?" With a sheepish smile, Loki shrugged lightly.

"I guess I forgot in all the excitement." She bowed to the warrior leader, in the same show of respect that she had been given. "My name is Loki Lambert. My tall friend's name is Dante Vale, and the boy is William Casterwill." Derima didn't seem to care much for the names of men, but she narrowed her eyes upon hearing the blonde's.

"γης φωτεινά?" She murmured to herself, before shaking her head. "Please, come with me. I wish to show you my village. There is much my people wish to know of the outside world. Perhaps you could teach them?" With a smile, the older woman led the way, but for a moment, Loki hesitated.

Derimacheia didn't know that Loki spoke Greek, so when she had spoken it herself, she did not know that the blonde had understood her perfectly.

Land bright. The origins of her family name.

Where had an ancient Amazon village ever heard the name of _Lambert?_

* * *

><p>AN: Yay for quick updates. Boo for exams, which I should be revising for.<p> 


	64. Chapter 63 Ladies' Choice Part 2

AN: Onwards and upwards! The day is bright, a chapter's up, what more could a girl want? Oh yeah, less exams...

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 63- Ladies' Choice Part 2

Loki's mouth was hanging open. She knew it was. But she couldn't help it. From the corner of her eye, she could see that Cherit's mouth was the same, where he was sitting on her shoulder. She didn't blame him. This place was like nothing she had ever seen, had ever thought she would see, not even in her childish fantasies on lazy summer days when the dull lessons drove her too-sharp mind to distraction, trying to teach her things she already knew. When Dante had said they were going looking for the Amazon village, she had expected ruins, maybe a few temples or buildings still in working order. Nothing had prepared her for the thriving, glistening city of cream and gold stone, as clear cut and beautiful as the day it was made. True, vines wound around many places, the jungle staking its claim on the place that lay nestled at its heart, but it only served to add to the mysterious, ancient atmosphere of the village, as if the Amazons were truly one with the forest, the plants mere physical proof of the bond they shared with nature.

At the blonde's left, the warrior known as Derimachiea bit her lip to hide a laugh at her young companion's awe-struck face. Though the previous queen, Penthesilea, had warned her that the world beyond the woods thought their society to be a legend, or long dead, it had never seemed truer than now, looking down on the child's wonder and amazement. She waited a moment, her pride wanting the girl to marvel at her home for a while longer, then bowed her head.

"Loki, this way, if you please." Barely able to drag her eyes away, the pale-skinned teen turned with clear reluctance, a slight pout on her face as she was forced to leave the more populated areas of the village behind, Derima taking her towards the sacred grounds that belonged to the temples and the queen's chambers. A row of warriors kept guard of the holy earth-bound home of the gods and goddesses, and it was here that the senior fighter took her guest, relishing the silence, one she knew would be broken soon. She had taught many of her sisters when they were younger, more than enough to recognize the inquisitive, curious glint in the stranger's eyes, one that promised many questions. She was beginning to realize that while the delicate-looking child was a strong fighter, able to wield powers beyond her imagination, she was still just that. A child.

"Our queen, Hippolyta, will want an audience with you. But first, you will have to learn a few of our ancient customs, in order to be allowed in her presence." Loki nodded as if this made sense, looking at the decorated walls, as if they might hold a clue. The older warrior smiled. "These carvings show our most sacred knowledge- our prophecies, past, and our ways and traditions. Learn what you can." A question flashed in her guest's eyes, but Derimachiea had already guessed what the girl wanted to know. "The words written here are in our own tongue. I am sorry, but there are some things that outsiders cannot know." Again, the child nodded sagely, before turning back to the walls, curious and eager.

She looked on in amusement as the blonde girl inspected the murals on the wall of the origins and history of the tribe, tracing the lines of writing in the native Amazon language, her head tilted to one side and her eyes bright with interest. Now and then she'd stop and murmur something to the titan on her shoulder, and he'd nod or shake his head. After a moment, she nodded to herself, grinning, and turned to include Derima in the smile. "So," She tapped the picture in front of her. "You guys came from near Bafra, huh?"

The warrior froze, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "Where did you learn that?" She advanced towards the girl, expecting her to be intimidated, but instead the blonde just kept grinning, before tapping the picture again. It showed the migration of the Amazons into the forest as the world began to change, their escape from the 'outside world' into their protective home of today. A narrative of their journey was written underneath, _in Amazonian_. Derimachiea paused, confused, then faced the grinning Irish again. "Did you _read_ our script?" A slow, proud nod was her reply. "But that's impossible! There is no record of our writings anywhere else in the world! Where could you have possibly learnt to decipher our language?"

Loki gave a delighted laugh. "Right here!" Seeing her guide's perplexed expression, she gestured to the wall, then stretched her hands above her head as she explained, still smiling. "I'm a pretty good linguist. I speak most languages there are, 'dead' or 'alive'. I've travelled the world with my team, solving puzzles for a living. I'm _good_ at deciphering things. Cherit here is the same- he speaks even more languages then I do!" She looked down at the writing, almost pouting. "Actually, it was a bit easy..."

Derima raised an arched brow, thinking this over. "It would seem," She said at last, "That you are a warrior of the mind, as well as of the body." The girl shrugged.

"That's one way of putting it."

Knowing that it was now pointless to try to teach Loki _just_ the basics when she had already read more than was right, the warrior began to instruct her as she would her own students, noting to herself that no matter what she said or did, the bright spark in the sea-blue eyes of her companion was never as bright as when she was 'solving' her people's language. When the girl had said she 'solved puzzles for a living', it seemed like there was more truth to it than her mysterious guest had meant to reveal. Puzzles, mysteries, riddles, these were what gave Loki joy. Solving them gave her a sense of purpose. They truly were her life.

The warrior watched the girl for a few minutes longer till, to her surprise, the blonde stepped back from the wall with a sigh, and a hint of confusion in her eyes, talking quietly to the creature known as 'Cherit', before he shook his head, and she sighed again. "Oka-ay." She murmured, half to herself, and half to her host, the drawn out word sounding puzzled. Derimachiea frowned.

"What is it, child?" Loki's eyebrow rose at the title, but accepted it none-the-less, before turning to the older woman, arms folded across her chest, eyes dark with thought.

"Well, I've finished reading your teachings and writings," She gestured dismissively towards the wall of writing she had finished deciphering. "And while I understand _most_ of it, there's this one phrase that keeps popping up that makes absolutely no sense, to me or Cherit. Keeps talking about an ancient prophecy or something?"

Derimachiea's grey eyes turned glacially cold, chips of flint in her proud face. "That is knowledge only gifted to our high priestesses. The prophecies are not for the eyes of the uninitiated. I'm afraid, Loki, that this is one secret I must keep."

The blonde sighed, accepting, but knowing that _not_ knowing would nag at the back of her mind until a different, more promising, more entertaining mystery came up, which probably wouldn't be for a long, long time. "That's a shame," She muttered as they walked back towards the grand archway leading out into the village again. "I like secrets."

One other thing lingered at the back of her mind. There had been no mention of _bright-land_, or γης φωτεινά as Derima had put it. Not a whisper or a hint or even the slightest indication of _anything_ close to her family's name.

So _where_ had her hostess ever heard it?! And why did it surprise her so much to hear it on the Irish girl's lips? Loki gave another sigh, looking back over her shoulder at the histories of the Amazons. She knew the answer was here somewhere.

But where?

Shaking her head, Loki darted after Derima, smiling up at the taller blonde. "One other thing I don't understand," She asked carefully. "How do you know about Seekers?" She looked down, a little embarrassed. "Most people would have just called me a witch or a freak…" She looked as pitiful as possible to put Derima off the scent- her family was a Seeker family, she knew that. Maybe the older warrior could be…_ persuaded_ to let some answers slip. Cherit stayed silent, sensing a trick, and grinning to himself.

"Long ago," The warrior said in a low voice, saluting to the guards lining the path that they were now walking. "When Queen Hippolyta's mother Penthesilea, ruled our village, her life was once in danger. She was saved by a Seeker called Metz."

Now that, that Loki was not expecting. Metz?! As in, Dante's _mentor_ Metz, leader of the Huntik Foundation?! A few things clicked into place, like Dante's excellent training, and the fact that Metz had had a map to the village in the first place, but still… It was hard to believe that he had found such a place and kept it a secret.

Then again, looking around at the preserved way of life, the warrioresses walking around, their sharp eyes watched the forest warily, Loki could guess that it wasn't really his choice, and rather for the best. Calling for Cherit, who had flown to play with some curious young Amazons, she followed Derimachiea quietly, her mind filled with questions, and very few answers.

* * *

><p>Will sighed, looking out of the window of the small room he and Dante had been given for the duration of their stay. For now, they were to stay put, and not leave. The village would have to be warned of their presence first, so the two men were not shot of sight. Keeping this in mind, the Casterwill was more than happy to stay by his mentor, but he couldn't help but worry. Loki was alone out there, and while Dante might trust the Amazons, he did not. After all, they had just attacked them. Not an hour ago, they had been fighting one another. With that in mind, the brunette was not so easily calmed, thinking that the blonde- a notorious mischief-maker, with a habit of getting in all kinds of trouble- was out there by herself.<p>

Knowing that dwelling on it would only make it worse, but unable to help himself, he padded back to the table and benches where his russet-haired friend was sat, his neck prickling with the feeling of eyes on his back. He knew he was being watched by their 'protectors'- but he also knew that they were more like guards. Even with Loki vouching for them, one wrong move and there'd be a whole load of trouble. Maybe even a fight.

With boredom setting in, a fight was starting to look less and less like a bad idea.

Dante, seeing the glint in his student's eye, gave him a warning look. Will rolled his eyes in return, unable to shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen to Loki if he wasn't there to look out for her. The auburn sighed, and smiled wryly. "She'll be fine, Will. Have a little trust."

The boy glared at him. "I trust that she'll get in trouble! She always does."

The older Seeker just crooked his finger, and the emerald-eyed lad flopped down on the bench next to him. "She's got Cherit with her. He'll stop her doing anything too reckless."

An eyebrow was raised. "You do know he either goes along with or encourages her schemes most of the time, right?"

"Will…"

"Fine, fine!" He recognized the warning tone- it meant he was getting on the older man's nerves, and to just accept it and move on. For someone so stubborn, the counsel of his few friends was something he always listened to, without fault, if only because he knew that they could be trusted. "So, what are we doing here anyway?" He lowered his voice, eyes darting quickly over to check on their guards. "You mentioned something about the Legendary Titans on the plane, but you've kept pretty quiet since."

Dante's eyes also watched their watchers carefully, voice soft and cautious. "I think Metz wanted us to come and find the Legendary Titan he left behind."

Will nodded seriously, already half-looking with his sixth Casterwill sense for a powerful source of magic. After a moment, he shook his head. "There's too much interference." He sighed, disappointed. "The Amazons' force field is disrupting all the magic energy inside- that's how it hides the village. I can't get a clear reading, not unless I walked around." Their eyes slid over to the women at the door. "And that isn't going to happen anytime soon."

The men fell silent for a moment, plotting, when Will smiled slyly at his friend. "Hey, Dante," He grinned wickedly. "Why'd you think Metz spent so much time in this little village anyway?" A new set of guards appeared in the door, laughing and joking with their sisters before changing shifts.

Dante felt a similar smile tug at the corners of his lips. "I can't imagine." It was unlike Will to make a joke in a situation as serious as this, but the auburn was glad. Better that Will made a joke then start a fight. And he knew it _was _a joke. Both of them- even though the younger one was still very much in denial- had already sworn their hearts to another.

One of the new guards padded forwards, her eyes hidden behind the half-mask that all the women wore. "Please, strangers." She murmured in heavily accented English. "Eat." She offered a woven basket of fruit towards them, placing it on the table. Being polite, as Will stared her down unnervingly, his emerald eyes cold and unwavering, Dante smiled, bowing his head, surreptitiously kicking the boy in the shins under the table. However, the violence was unsuccessful, and it was he alone who gave his thanks as she walked away.

* * *

><p>And, unknown to them all, save for some small misgiving at the back of their mind, Rassimov's suits were lurking just beyond the village walls. Ducking behind trees as sharp, cyan eyes scanned the trees, the blonde Seeker thinking she saw something as she padded beside Derimachiea, a portion of her heart telling her <em>something was close<em>, they relaxed only when she shrugged and carried on, out of sight with the tall, frightening warrior woman who was her guide. Sharing a look, knowing that they had found the right place, each pulled an amulet from their pockets, gleaming darkly in the shadows that hung low under the canopy of the trees.

* * *

><p>"<em>Metz!" The voice rang out under the trees as a young boy ran headlong down the faint jungle path, the sharp cry of some unearthly bird right at his heels. "Metz!" He burst from the undergrowth, charged down to the river- well, it was more of a stream really- and hopped across the stepping stones two at a time. His guardian, the tall man with the deep eyes that he could trust, looked down at him as he stopped, looking back over his shoulder for the creature that had been following him. It appeared at his side with a harsh <em>'cah-roo'_, and the child stuck out his arm for the bird to land on. Its talons glimmered gently in the bright sunlight, a necklace of gems around its proud neck, a glistening helmet on its high-held head. "Look, Metz!" The boy cheered, petting the bird-that-was-not-a-bird as it groomed under its wing. "I did it! I invoked my first titan!"_

_The man, Metz, smiled delightedly, proudly, and reached out a hand for the titan to sniff. "Well done, Dante!" He ruffled the kid's hair, and they both grinned at each other. "Your first Bond, and it's with a titan you found all by yourself, too!"_

_Little Dante's smile, if it was possible, grew even wider and brighter than before. "Isn't he great?" He smiled excitedly at the creature on his arm, who in turn trilled a cheerful song to his newest master._

_Metz looked at the strong friendship between the two, his eyes warm and kind. "Yes, Solwing will be a good friend, but you'll also need a fellow warrior to fight by your side when trouble finds you." The older man's smile spoke of past experiences where trouble had indeed found his young ward. Innocently wide, curious eyes turned to look at him in anticipation._

"_Who?" Dante's excitement was barely restrained. Metz knew that one of the things the young boy loved the most was learning how to fight, make friends, and use his powers for greater good. The German was proud. He was the very model of the perfect Foundation Seeker, if a little young still._

"_His name," The older Seeker pulled an amulet from his pocket, as if he had known this would happen. __It was oval, with three prongs protruding from the base, and grey in colour. At its centre was a blue stone, which shone brightly in the sunlight. "Is Caliban."_

* * *

><p>Dante sighed, looking at the old, rather scuffed amulet resting in the palm of his hand. The gem shone brightly as ever, but the years had taken their toll on the rest of the pendant, which was littered with scratches and dents from years of fights and battles. He could still remember that day so clearly, the day he had first held it in his hand, delighted and scared all at once.<p>

A chill wind swept across the clearing, hungrily climbing the stone steps that led up to where the auburn was standing, having been allowed some fresh air for a moment by his 'protectors'. Will was still inside, sulking, pacing and shooting glares at any and all that went near him. Something about the way that the women would look between he and Dante, and then whisper and giggle, was _really_ annoying him. Thinking it best to get back to his student before the boy got himself in trouble, the auburn tucked Caliban's amulet back into the pocket that it had lived in for the past ten years, then turned around and walked away, his face already schooled to hide his pain and fear. For years, Metz was all he had.

He couldn't lose him. Not now. Not ever.

Whatever it was that the man had sent him to find, he would find, no matter the cost.

Blinking quickly to adjust his eyes from the bright sun outside, Dante made his way over to Will, resting a calming hand on his shoulder as he saw the pent up energy, anger and irritation in his eyes. A soft murmur from behind him had them both turning quickly.

"We take you to mistress now. Come, follow, please." Will immediately ducked his head to hide the blush tainting his cheeks. _Mistress_ had taken a whole other meaning since these ladies' last encounter with the outside world. Dante nodded to the Amazon waiting impatiently by the door, then followed as she disappeared down the steps, Will close behind.

* * *

><p>Loki took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. This place was <em>amazing<em>. After her 'lesson' with Derimachiea, the older blonde had decided to let her wander on her own, so that she could learn more about their culture. If the Irish lass didn't know better, she'd think that Derima was trying to convince her to join up. Which would never happen. She loved modern technology _way_ too much to live here. That, and she'd never get to see Dante or Will ever again.

So, after an afternoon of walking around and watching, being greeted with bows and hands over hearts wherever she went, the Seeker and her titan sought refuge by a pond off the beaten track. Few wandered nearby, so the blonde sat down at the water's edge, trailing a hand in the water absent-mindedly as she thought over what had happened that day. Suddenly, she became aware of Cherit pulling at her scarf, eyes filled with excitement.

Laughing, she allowed herself to be whirled around, till the titan stopped, twirling to land on her shoulder with a barely-concealed giggle. "Do you spy what I spy?" The mini-titan croaked, grinning wildly. With a gasp, his friend's eyes widened, seeing what he saw.

Atop a pedestal on the other side of the pond, was a statue. Not just any statue, this was one of a figure that Loki had never seen before, but instantly recognized. It was a centaur, the horse-like body still, yet seeming to ripple with motion without taking a step, the woman's torso straight backed, her features proud and strong, inhumanely beautiful, and, oh yeah, she also had four arms. The woman's hair was pulled back in a way that highlighted the fierce beauty of her face, a quiver peeking over her shoulder, a bow held ready with two hands, the other two clenched into fists that promised pain to all attackers.

Grinning at her titan friend, she nodded excitedly. "I sure do, Cherit. That looks just like a titan, doesn't it?" She fell silent, watching curiously as an Amazon padded into the clearing. She looked surprised to see Loki, behind her mask, but smiled and gave a bow which the blonde returned as best she could whilst sitting before going about her business.

Murmuring prayers in her leaf-like tongue, the woman knelt before the statue of the four-armed centaur woman, laying the quiver of arrows she carried at her hoofed feet. Turning, she pulled a ladle seemingly from nowhere, though after looking for a moment Loki could see the small compartment in the stone of the pedestal where it had come from. Moving past the fascinated Seeker, she took water from the pool, padded back to the statue, up the stairs beside it, then poured the water over the head of the woman before leaping down in one graceful movement, placing the ladle back, and kneeling before the statue once more.

Curious, Loki padded closer, as the woman stood with a final bow, backing away a few respectful steps before turning to face her inquisitive visitor. "You Seeker, yes?" The words were obviously formed by an unskilled, struggling tongue, but the pleasure that came from being able to speak to the stranger warrior was clear. Encouragingly, the blonde smiled kindly.

"Yes, I am." Now she was standing, she properly returned the bow she was earlier given. After being loosened by Cherit's tugging and pulling, her scarf fell softly to the ground, a gentle wind pulling it a few steps away before Loki could grab it. With a laugh and a sigh, the blonde quickly walked to it and crouched to pick it up. Running her fingers over the rich blue fabric, like a river in her hands, she remembered with a wistful smile when it had been her father who had worn it, before standing slowly, head bowed under the weight of her memories. Shaking off the past, she lifted her head to smile at her new Amazon friend.

The woman was staring, transfixed and horrified, at the glowing silver-and-blue marks around her neck. Shaking like a leaf in the autumn winds, she raised a hand to point at the glittering symbols, took a deep breath, and _shrieked. _The sound was like the screaming of trees in a storm, as the winds whipped them back and forth like a toy. It was the sound of the wind screeching through the forest like a banshee. Whatever it was that the warrior was saying, none of it was good.

Immediately, Amazons streamed into the clearing. The first one took one look at her neck and chucked her spear. A swift Honourguard was all that saved Loki from a painful death there and then. Backing away, scared and confused, she looked left and right along the advancing flank of faceless, unyielding warriors, and turned and ran.

* * *

><p>Charging through the dirt paths and tracks of the village, hearing the thrum of her heartbeat in her ears and the thud of Cherit's wings as he flew, panicky and erratic, after her through the forest, Loki wondered silently what on <em>earth<em> had sentenced her to _death_. The markings around her neck had scared the Amazons beyond belief.

They may have to come back for the Legendary Titan later. Right now, she needed to get Will, get Dante, and get out.

Hurtling around bends, twisting around trees as sinuously as a snake, Loki tried to remember what direction her friends had been taken in. She was so busy trying to remember, that she tore around a corner and slammed straight into something, some_one_ else. Lashing out blindly, still caught in the panic of hunted prey, it took her a moment to realise that the person was saying her name.

"-oki! Loki! Listen, look it's me, it's alright." She blinked, looking up at Dante with tears in her eyes, when the sounds of the pursuits that had fallen behind- the blonde could be quite sprightly when she was running for her life, and she'd had plenty of practice in the past few weeks- began to grow again. Freezing with fear, she had to shake herself to chase away the dark clouds in her mind.

"It's _these_!" She gestured desperately at her neck, grabbing Will's hand and tugging them off, leading them away again. "My scarf fell off, and one of them saw, and she totally freaked out, and then everyone started attacking me, and I almost got hit with a _spear,_ guys, _an honest-for-goodness spear!_" The brunette at her side realised, with a start, that Loki was freaking out herself, her breathing shallow and scared, her eyes wide and filled with fear. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, and she flashed him a weak smile.

The smile disappeared as she turned back to face the way they had been running. Dante had stopped, defeated, his hands raised in surrender, and beyond him… a wall of Amazons, the jungle-dwellers having circled around to corner them from every angle. There was no way out. They were surrounded.

Instinctively, as more women appeared behind them, Dante and Will moved to protect Loki, their fists raised. The crowds parted to allow one warrior through, the leader of the mob. Her cold, grey eyes met with the blonde's wide blue ones, and she gently lowered the boys' arms so she could step forwards to talk with her. "Derimachiea!" She called, trying to ignore the way that several Amazons flinched at her voice. "Why are you doing this to me? What have I done?"

"You have done nothing but exist!" The quiet reply was fierce with anger and hate. "You, the creature that my people have been warned against for centuries, an ancient prophecy of a monster of great power and strength that would come from another world. We are sworn to destroy you, before you destroy the world. The marks about your neck are proof of your demonic power- through them your soul leaks forth! You control the blue fire that devours all things. You are the Burning-Brightly One!"

Loki cringed away, opening her mouth to deny the accusations, when a chill fear shot through her.

_Through them your soul leaks forth._

_Blue fire._

_Burning-Brightly One._

Her soul… That is what she had called the thing that had been taken from her. Her soul, because that is what her heart told her was missing. A part of her own essence. The marks around her neck, a constant reminder of what she had lost, had appeared when it had been taken.

Her power, once a blue-grey mist, had changed since the day in Ireland. With no control, it had turned from a gentle river to a raging fire, so dangerous because it did not know friend from foe. It burnt everything around, without exception or exemption. A blue-silver fire that destroyed everything in its path.

And that _name_… It rang a chord through her mind, one of remembrance and memory. Where had she heard it before? A voice had called her that, a voice that was not truly a voice, one in her mind, more a growl than anything else. Lindorm. The Bear-Dragon rarely used her true name; in fact, she was hard pressed to remember a time when he had. Instead, he called her by another. _Burning-Brightly._

"I-" Loki faltered, then took a deep breath and tried again. "I am not a demon. I would never do those things, _ever_."

Derimachiea saw her hesitation, and leapt on it. "You know." She crowed triumphantly. "You _know_ I speak the truth." Her eyes flickered to the men still standing protectively beside the 'demon'. "She will kill us all if you do not let us stop her. Stand aside, let us take her, and we will let you go."

Will snarled, eyes narrowed into burning emerald slits, hands clenched into fists. "Never!" Derima's lips quirked upwards into a sneering smirk.

"Then you have sealed your fate. Take them! Be especially careful with the Seeker-demon!"

A click of her fingers, and the team were overwhelmed.

* * *

><p>The man paused, tugging at his high collar as he paused to listen. Satisfied with the silence that filled the forest, and cursing his ridiculously long robes in the sweltering humidity and heat, the suit padded quietly on towards his master, for once glad of the sunglasses all suits wore. Spotting figures through the trees, he turned left and entered the clearing where his teammates and leader were waiting impatiently.<p>

Rassimov glared at the newcomer- while his skin was as ice-pale as always, the heat did not agree with him- and summoned him with a click of his fingers. "Have Dante Vale and his team _found_ _anything_ yet?"

The suit slowly shook his head. "They're not even looking, boss. They've all been captured by the Amazons!"

With a growl that seemed to hide a note of confusion, Rassimov span away, clenching and unclenching his hands into fists, as if wrapping them around a throat and squeezing all the life away. "She insists on playing games instead of just taking what she wants…" He muttered to himself, a hand drifting briefly towards his pocket. He turned suddenly to face his minions. "We will not make that mistake. Go to the village, and _request_ an audience with their queen." A snap of his fingers sent the suits scattering away amongst the foliage and undergrowth, to do his bidding.

* * *

><p>AN: So, hopefully a new chapter will be up soon. If not, its because either I'm exhausted from exams, or the zombies got me. Which zombies? I have no idea, but my older sister is convinced they are coming for her. Thanks Giffgaff. Thanks a lot.<p> 


	65. Chapter 64 Ladies' Choice Part 3

AN: Hold onto your hats and whatever else. This is a very long chapter. Its a monster. It ran away with me and kept on running.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 64- Ladies' Choice Part 3

Will sighed, rubbing his head where the Amazons had knocked him out, pulling himself up into a sitting position. A slightly blurry hand appeared in front of him, and he took it, allowing Dante to pull him to his feet. The ground shifted under his unsteady feet, and for a moment he thought it was the headache he could feel pounding behind his eyes. Then he looked down.

The ground swung into focus a few meters below them, swaying gently as the twine, vine and wood ball-cage that he and Dante were suspended in was shifted by the breeze. The Casterwill sighed again, raising an eyebrow at his mentor. "You okay?"

The auburn nodded. "I'm fine. You?"

"Apart from my pride, yeah, fine. Let's not ever mention this again. Ever." The pair grinned at each other, secretly just relieved to be alive. After the way the Amazons had reacted to Loki, they hadn't really expected to wake up after getting knocked out.

Wait…

Where was Loki? Cherit was there, tied up tightly to the bars of the prison, a tiny scrap of cloth across his mouth to gag him, as if being a titan would allow him to use Seeker powers. The blonde, however, was missing. Will immediately thought the worst- after all, the women warriors had called Loki an unholy demon, and said in no uncertain terms that they considered it their mission to kill her- but before he could even begin to voice the thought to Dante, the older man sighed, rolling his eyes, and tilted the boy's head up.

"Yikes." The Casterwill muttered after a moment. "That looks…uncomfortable."

The blonde was in a higher cage quite like their own, and was currently strung up by her wrists, gagged with her own scarf, and her legs were tied tightly together. Movement was a distant dream- swinging gently side to side in the wind was all she was capable of. However, her azure eyes, glinting anxiously above the similarly coloured fabric across her mouth, were focused on the team below, obviously more worried about them than herself. Will, relieved she was alright, gave her a small grin, which she returned from behind her gag, glad he was awake.

Leaning back against the bars of the cage, the tight knot of fear and worry in his chest loosening slightly, Will raised an eyebrow at his mentor. "Good thing they don't think we're Seekers too, right Dante?"

The auburn grinned back, a mischievous spark in his gold eyes. "That would have been," He paused for a moment, thinking for a word. "Inconvenient."

The boy nodded slowly, catching on. "Nice escape plan."

Cherit tried to say something through the cloth in his mouth and, with a start, Will removed the offending scrap. The titan grinned his thanks. "Speaking of escape, let's get our tails into gear." No noticed Loki still at his words, an impish glint glimmering in her cobalt orbs, before scanning the ground for their guards. Seeing a few Amazons gathered at the base of the trees that held them up, she settled back to wait with an inaudible sigh.

Dante shook his head, his nimble fingers trying- and failing- to loosen the ropes holding Cherit captive. "Not yet." He murmured quietly, his eyes too falling to watch the Amazons. "It's not time."

Even as he spoke, a ripple of sound echoed through the forest, and the women beneath them froze before darting off amongst the trees, panic written across their faces. Something was happening back at the village, something bad. And as she felt the marks around her neck shift slowly, the presence at the back of her mind stirring, Loki thought she might know what.

Down below, Will was checking the forest to ensure that the Amazons were gone. With a grin, he turned to Dante. "How about now?"

* * *

><p>Loki was quite right when she had thought Rassimov to be behind the chaos at the village. At the one building she had not been allowed into, the Queen's home, the immortal's suits were crowded around the steps at the base, a Sekmet and a Bonelasher at their backs, a horde of Amazons between them and the door, Derimachiea at the head of the crowd. A quite, but powerful voice came from above, a slight figure stepping out onto the balcony. "What's going on here?" It was a child of no more than ten years old, with a pure, expressive face filled with innocence and light. Her skin was darkened to the colour of coffee by the Turkish sun, her deep brown eyes the same rich shade as her short, bobbed hair. A band of gold, a ruby at its centre, held back her fringe, two short braids at either side of her face tipped by similar gems. A necklace of the same design made a halter-neck for her forest-green crop top, a short skirt of a darker green coming to mid-thigh, made for life where long things got caught and torn in the wilderness. A sturdy pair of hide boots completed her outfit. While, the jewellery aside, she was just like her sisters, an air of command and authority hung about her like a cloak, some steely core in her eyes demanding obedience. Though some might believe her age said otherwise, this girl was a Queen, in blood and in station.<p>

The suits below snarled, the most senior amongst them stepping forward with an Augerfrost charging in his palm. "You were just about to take us to the Legendary Titan." He growled. Hearing her queen's voice, Derimachiea turned her head back, eyes filled with fear for the lady she considered her daughter, after being so close to her mother.

"My Queen!" She threw out a hand. "Stay back! It is not safe!"

If anything, the warrior's words made the child even more determined to intervene. Seeing the lights that her enemies wielded, the monsters that came with them as allies, she nodded resolutely, reaching into her belt and pulling out a glittering gold-and-green pendant. Lifting it calmly above her head, her eyes hard and cold, she summoned the titan within. "Protect our way of life, Forest Queen Diana!"

In a flash of gold-tinted green, the four-armed centaur women appeared on the balcony beside her Seeker and fellow royal, purple eyes flashing dangerously, one curl of grey-purple hair falling from its place, pinned by her diadem, as she tossed her head angrily. The suits gasped, one stumbling back, before their temporary leader scowled darkly, summoning his Sekmet to his side with a click of his fingers. "She's a Seeker! Get her!"

Seeing the cat-warrior leaping towards her, the young girl, Queen Hippolyta, raised her arms, one lying flat before her, pointing at the titan approaching, the other up over her head. "Fire!" She brought her arm down ritually to match her other, and the centaur followed her command. "Now!" Two flaming arrows shot from the creature's bow, the flames spitting and hissing, before smashing through the Sekmet, turning both themselves and the cat into dust and light.

Taking the distraction given, Derima gave a sharp whistle to call her warriors back into formation. "Arrows!" At her word, the Amazons readied their bows, nocking arrows to the string, their bright feathers like warning colours to all that stood before them.

Seeing that the battle wasn't going quite the way they planned, one suit pulled another amulet from his robes, grinning evilly as he called its name. "Go Nighlurker!" The cloaked mouth appeared in a black flash, the light seeming to draw all other lights in and destroy them, consume them, in the darkness. Sneaking into the shadows, it appeared soundlessly behind the Forest Queen, clamping onto one of her hind legs with its razor like teeth. At the sound of her titan's silent scream, the queen turned, horror-stricken, to see Diana vanish in a burst of gold light.

Seeing her queen's danger, and knowing from her lessons with the girl that to destroy the Seeker is to destroy the titan, Derima raised her bow. "Fire!" As one, the Amazons loosed their arrows, a trio of deadly flights. Spotting the danger, the Bonelasher leapt in front of its Seeker, taking the hit to its massive shoulder. Roaring in pain and anger, it ripped them from its green flesh, screaming as the flint-heads stayed embedded where they lay, too small for its large, ungainly hands to pull out.

Narrowing his eyes behind his sunglasses, the long-, white-haired suit snarled. "Stoneblade!" He spat the spell like a curse, and a blue-tinted grey light charged from his hands to burrow itself in the earth, from where it sent a ripple through the ground, sparks of blue-grey light bursting through here and there, casting aside all in its path. Bonelasher, sensing an opportunity, rushed after it, darting through the gap left by the defeated Amazons. One still stood to bar its path, a tall woman with blonde hair, a long-handled axe held in her deft, practiced hands, her bow cast aside. Derimachiea growled to reply as the titan did the same. Roaring her fury, she swung her axe forward in a vicious arc, but the Bonelasher just grabbed the handle, pulled it from her grasp, and swiped one with its black claws. Set flying by the blow, a trio of deep slashes down her arm, Derima lay where she fell, fallen, defeated.

Above, eyes wide with horror and fear, the queen cried out as her kingdom crumbled at her feet.

* * *

><p>Loki blinked, hearing the cry that rang through the forest, her eyes flying to meet Dante's. He sighed, looking around, considering. Seeker powers <em>could<em> get them out, but which one? Raypulse would burn away the vines and wood, but on closer inspection, the cage had a metallic core that would just melt and hurt them instead of freeing them. They could just bust out with brute strength, but they needed strength to fight, and Loki was still tied tightly, Cherit too. Will and Dante had tried several times to free the little titans, but the knots and ropes of the Amazons were beyond their skill. The only one who could free them was Loki, but Loki herself needed freeing.

Hearing a creaking above them, Dante lifted his head to watch his younger friend sway herself back and forth, gaining a little momentum as she did so. Staying silent, confused and curious, the boys watched as the blonde wriggled the ropes around her legs so they slipped to wrap around her calves and ankles, freeing her knees. Swinging again, she managed to get her feet on the bars of her slightly smaller cage, and began to shift her feet up the sides, gradually working up till she was almost bent in half backwards. The boys looked at each other, puzzled, but going along with it. Loki, after all, was the lady of pranks, the mistress of mischief, the trickster queen. There was a reason that Springer, the trap-master, had Bonded with her.

Tilting her head to look behind her, and seemingly satisfied with how close her feet were to her head, Loki twisted her wrists in their bindings so she could grab hold of them, pulling herself upwards so she could loosen them and fit a little more of her arm through the hole. Trying to reach back to her feet, and failing, the azure-eyed girl paused for a moment, rethought her plan, then held onto the ropes with one hand and shoved the other through the loop to grasp at her shoe.

After a few attempts, she managed to catch the heel of her right shoe with her fingers, and a muffled triumphant shout came from behind her scarf. Slowly, Dante and Will began to realise just what she was doing. Wasn't it just a few days ago that the trickster had been debating with Cherit the pros and cons of secret compartments in shoes?

Feeling her way along the heel of the sturdy walking boot, she pushed two opposite sides in, twisted it left once, let go of the sides, pressed in the other two, and twisted it right three times. Dante raised his eyebrows. Even for Loki, that was a bit…extreme. Extravagant even. But, then again, a twist-mechanism might come off when walking in rough terrain like the jungle, and whatever the girl had in there, it was probably valuable to her.

Watching as she pulled the heel from her boot, the boys grinned at each other as they recognised the glint of purple that lay within. A muffled call, a flash of mauve, and the furry squirrel titan appeared. With a shake of her head, the blonde directed the creature to tend to the others first, as protective of them as always. Cherit, still struggling against his bonds, looked at his fellow titan in panic and gratitude.

"Don't forget me, okay?" As if to assure him, Cherit's ropes were the first to disappear at a touch from the dual-tails of the puzzle-solver. Seeing no more ropes to undo, Springer leapt back to his Seeker, running up and around her, following the path of the ropes, which fell away at his touch. Reaching her shoulder, he took off the scarf from around her mouth as gently as possible, before tying it around her neck with a flourish and a pride that made them all laugh. For a moment, Springer looked a little indignant, and then gave a bright chirp that sounded like a giggle, before jumping down to undo the ropes holding the floor of Loki's cage together, keeping her hanging a few seconds longer.

As the bars and ropes dropped to the ground, he scurried back to his mistress's shoulder, squeaked a warning, then removed the bindings around her wrists. She fell through the hole left by the missing floor, eyes widening as she saw the sizable drop, before shouting out a quick, helpful power. "Featherdrop!" She landed lightly, the golden nimbus fading gently, then winced, stretching out the kinks from her uncomfortable position. Looking up at the boys, she grinned and crooked a finger, laughing. "You guys coming or what?" Leaning against a tree, she allowed her puzzle-master to reattach the heel to her shoe before disappearing back into his amulet with a wave, a grin, and a squeak. Waiting for the boys, she rooted around the base of the trees till a triumphant cry came from where she had disappeared, and she padded back into view, her belt and its pouch of amulets in hand.

Dante pulled an amulet from his pocket, tossing it up and down as if considering her words. "We'll take care of our cage the old-fashioned way!" Catching the amulet on the back of his hand, he let its purple light surround him. "Metagolem!" The giant stone man tore the cage apart just by appearing, landing heavily on the ground with an earth-shaking _'thud'_.

The trio hit the ground running, racing after the blonde who had darted ahead to avoid Metagolem's enormous feet. She grinned, slowing to let Will and Dante catch her up, ignoring the way that the brunette scanned her for injuries, even as she did the same to him. "Maybe if we save the village, they'll like us more!" Her eyes met her mentor's, and she sobered slightly. "The queen has some keepsakes from Metz locked away." She told him, yelling to be heard over the rumbling crashes of Metagolem's steps as he ran behind them.

With a grin to match her own, Dante pulled a small wooden item from one of his many pockets. "And I," He showed them what he had in his hands. "Have the key to unlock them!" He tucked it safely back away, his heart pounding, not from the running, but from knowing they were so _close_. The thing that Metz had wanted, that he felt would help him, was so close he could almost feel it in his hands. But first, they had to save the Amazons, even if they were trying to kill them.

* * *

><p>The suit snarled, looking around the mass of fallen warriors, their queen still standing strong and determined above. He pointed at her with an accusing finger. "Since you still refuse to cooperate," He summoned his fellow suits to his side. "Attack!"<p>

The young girl-queen gasped, her brown eyes wide with fear, before hastily pulling another amulet from her belt, lifting it high above her head so that the sunlight caught the gold and the blue, sparkling gem. Glowing turquoise, she called its name. "Solwing!" The helmeted, trio-winged bird flew into the sun, blinding the Bonelasher as its eyes tried to follow him. Unfortunately, the suits' sunglasses protected their eyes from the fierce glare, and a Raypulse was quickly sent to stun the small titan. Falling from the sky, Solwing was fast destroyed by the Bonelasher, grabbed and smashed into the ground.

The child cried out as a Raypulse strafed the air nearby her head, ducking and shielding her head with her hands. The suits laughed, stepping closer, when a voice called out to stop them.

"Hey!" The suits turned to see the trio of humans and the massive hulking giant behind them, an edge of fear entering their eyes. While the queen was inexperienced as a Seeker, these were obviously skilled and practised at fighting. The signature yellow trenchcoat and blonde hair helped with that conclusion as well. Dante Vale and his team. The blonde- their target for capture, they realised suddenly- stepped forwards, azure eyes narrowed into sapphire shards, cold and hard. "We're looking for two suits lying in the mud."

With a spark of panic, the long-haired suit pulled out his amulet. "Nighlurker!" He quickly recalled the titan from where he had sent it home earlier. The bundle of bandages disappeared into the shadows, but sharp emerald eyes followed the mass of darkness that seemed to move, to be alive, and threw out a hand.

"Boltflare!" The orb of light cast back the shadows, revealing Nighlurker's place at Metagolem's feet. With a noise like an avalanche, the rock king grabbed the titan, and simply pulled him apart, twisting him as one might twist a dirty dishcloth to rid it of water. It vanished in a ripple of blue-black light, and the suits began to feel like this wasn't going to end well for them.

Deciding to take the fight to them, Loki drew a blue, familiar amulet from her belt-pouch, which was back on her waist as it should be. "Charge, Freelancer!" The armoured titan rushed the Bonelasher, catching its claws upon his shield and whacking it around the head with its oversized weapon, causing it to slam its own mouth upon its long, writhing tongue. It fell back, screaming, but Freelancer did not let it go so easily, running after it as it stumbled away.

The Bonelasher's suit, annoyed at being so easily bested, chose what he considered as the easiest target, and ran at them. "You kids are going to _pay!_" Sharing a grin, the teens raced side by side, in step, to meet his charge. Cherit, sensing an opportunity to help, grabbed a nearby fallen spear and flew in front of the suit, distracting him for a moment. Using this to their advantage, the teens grabbed an arm each.

"Got you!" They cried, in sync, then lashed out as one, kneeing the suit in the side, amongst other areas, before twisting together to throw him some distance away, where he landed and lay sprawled in a pool of mud. Laughing despite the serious situation, Loki held her hand out for a high-five, and Will, sighing and rolling his eyes, returned it.

Dante, seeing his students were perfectly capable of handling themselves, charged the other suit. When a power was blasted at his face, he quickly crabbed backwards, watching the green charged ball as it flew over his face to ruffle the tree tops, before springing upright again and head-butting the suit, knocking him out. Grabbing the suit's belt, he hoisted him over his shoulder and chucking him across the clearing, where he landed by his fellow in the mud.

Standing by them, Loki grinned. "Well, there they are! How about that?" She smiled at Will, and he unwillingly smiled back, unable to stay serious when the blonde was beaming like that. Behind the teens, Dante looked up and met the queen's eyes. She stared solemnly down at them, adult eyes unnerving in her childish face. The auburn felt a touch of fear creep into his heart. Would the Amazons still let Loki go? Or would they insist upon her death? Looking around at the fallen warriors, defeated by two measly suits, he allowed himself a slight feeling of relief. If the Amazons still wanted Loki, then he and Will should be able to persuade them otherwise.

* * *

><p>After quickly and competently tying up the mud-splattered suits, to both Will and Dante's surprise, Loki began to walk amongst the Amazons, binding wounds and checking for pulses. With a sigh and a shared look, the boys padded over to help as the queen disappeared from the balcony to reappear at the top of the steps, hurrying to help the warriors who had so valiantly protected her.<p>

It took ten minutes for the women to regain consciousness. Derima, her arm bound into a sling, was the last to wake. When she found herself looking up into eyes as blue as the sky, she started back, trying to reach for a weapon. A gentle, tiny hand on her shoulder stilled her. "Derimachiea, these people are the ones that saved me. Why do you attack them so? Why does everyone shy from them?"

The queen, Hippolyta, turned to look at Loki, - who had been pulled behind Dante and Will as soon as Derima had tried to attack her- her little face furrowed with a frown. Not wanting to lead the queen astray, and despite Will's voice hissing in her ear that said not to, the blonde bowed her head.

"Your majesty," She murmured in a quiet voice. "I believe it has something to do with this." She pulled her scarf aside, allowing the young girl a glimpse of the silver-and-sapphire markings around her neck. "When separated from my companions during a dangerous mission, I was overwhelmed by the enemy and cursed. These marks have marred my skin ever since." Her eyes met Derima's, filled with sadness and hurt. "You never let me explain what they were."

Derima rested a hand on her queen's shoulder as the girl's eyes grew round with fear and amazement. "My Queen, you know as well as I do what the legends say."

Hippolyta frowned again, looking up at her attendant. "The legends did not foretell that she would save my life, and the lives of the entire village. I am in her debt, and the debt of her companions."

Loki coughed lightly, bringing their attention back to her. "If I may, but, what do the legends actually say? It would be nice to know what I'm actually being accused of being."

The young queen nodded, as if expecting this. "Our prophetesses have long foreseen a creature that wielded a terrible power, one that would come from a world unlike our own, and would cleanse the Earth. A blue fire that would burn all things. Our legends say that this creature will be known to us by the markings of the demons that would be on its body somewhere, on the place where its soul is breaking loose of the fragile form it uses to hide amongst us. We call it the Burning Brightly One, after the fire it commands. This knowledge, this warning, was given to us by our most trusted prophetess. She came from a family of magicians whose blood flowed with the power of time. She foretold many things that have come to pass. We were warned against this monster so that we could destroy it before its power could be used for great evil, and destroy the world."

The blonde thought on this a minute, then sighed. "There are some things that I do recognise in myself in what you are saying." She admitted. "I do control a unique power, a blue mist that sometimes burns like a flame. And when I was cursed, my enemies did steal something from me… I call it my soul only because I don't know what else to call it, but it connects them to me somehow." Gripping Will's hand tightly, scared, she looked at Hippolyta. "And…I know the name. It is one I have been called before." She could feel Dante and Will freeze, stunned, as she continued. "My titan, the bear-dragon Lindorm, has never called me by my true name. He has always called me Burning-Brightly. Always." Her bright eyes, as blue as the power she commanded, turned to meet the queen's deep, earthen pair. "But I also know that I would never do the things you say. And I also know that I am fully human. Not a demon, not from some other world, but human."

Hippolyta nodded, obviously moved by Loki's surety in her own self and morals. Shrugging off Derima's hand, she stood tall and proud, commanding obedience and respect, moving to stand at the pinnacle of the pyramid-like building that was her home, the Amazons automatically moving to stand along the sides and around the base. "In honour and thanks for saving my life and the lives of all in our village, I decree that the outsider Loki Lambert and her servants shall be allowed to leave our realms. However," She sighed, then forced her shoulders straight again. "If they ever return, we Amazons shall abide by our ancient laws, and hunt down the Burning Brightly one in accordance with the prophecies of Alcinoe LandBright, in order to prevent the misuse of the powers our sister warned us of."

Loki's eyes widened and she stepped forwards from the protection of Dante and Will. "The name of my family, Lambert, derives from the old name LandBright." She called up to the young queen. "And my friends and I came here for a reason! Can't you at least help us find what we were looking for before you send us away, or tell me about Alcinoe?" Will gripped her shoulder in comfort, knowing first-hand how a mere mention of a family you hardly knew anything about could make you feel.

Derimachiea, from her place at her queen's side, shook her head firmly, eyes still regarding Loki distrustfully. After her time with the blonde, and seeing the markings around her neck, she no longer saw a girl, eager to learn and help. She saw a sly demon, intent on destruction, cunning and devious. "We cannot help, nor let you take anything, not even knowledge. It is time for you to go."

Turning to the side, Hippolyta solemnly accepted a tall, green, conical hat from one of the young serving women, the red gem at its centre, ringed with gold, matching her jewellery and marking it as a symbol of the queen. "I apologise, my friends, but those are the rules of the village, and I must enforce them." Silently, her eyes met Loki's, and the sorrow in their depths told the blonde just how sorry she was to have to send them away, and sentence her saviour to death should they ever return.

Dante half-bowed, his auburn hair shadowing the pain in his amber orbs. "We understand," He murmured quietly, knowing that to speak any louder would reveal the agony he was trying so desperately to hide. The answer, the cure, it was so _close_, and to walk away now knowing it was there, knowing that he was failing Metz…It was slowly killing him inside.

Loki grabbed his arm as he turned to walk away, her eyes filled with pleading, not just that he fight for himself, but desperation to learn what it was that the Amazons knew about her, about the woman that might be her family.

As he turned to face her, to explain that however badly Metz wanted this, however badly she wanted to know, that neither of them would want it if it meant having to fight the Amazons' culture and principles, a ripple of movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he and the teens both turned to face the figure appearing from the fringes of the forest. A soft grey robe covered their face and clothes, denying any recognition, though its shapely curves marked it as female. Hippolyta looked on in astonishment and disbelief. "What is this?" She cried, incredulous. "_More_ outsiders?!"

The woman stopped a few metres from the gathered crowd, and saluted before crossing her fists across her heart. The Amazons began to muttered amongst themselves. "She uses the Amazon sign of greeting!" They said. "That makes her one of us." The women and the Seekers watched silently as the stranger padded quietly to the pond where Loki had first been revealed, taking the ladle from its hidden compartment and filling it with water. She leapt gracefully to the top of the statue with one move, not spilling a drop, before pouring it over Diana's head and jumping back down. Standing before the centaur, she placed the ladle back in its place before, bowing with one hand over her heart. The crowd rustled with whispers again. "She knows our ways perfectly!"

As the woman stood straight again, the team caught sight of a single strand of midnight blue hair hanging from her hood as she bowed her head, and grinning, realising who it was that had followed them to the village.

Watching as Zhalia, for they were sure it was she, approached Derima, who had walked down the steps to meet her, the team nudged each other with wide grins, glad that she had finally returned. Both Loki and Will pretended not to see the way that Dante looked at the blue-haired woman, as if she was the first sunrise after months of Antarctic winter darkness.

A rich, half-familiar voice drifted huskily from under the hood, a slender, delicate hand rising to point at Derimachiea. "You're second-in-command, right?" At the woman's nod, she continued. "I'd like to request an audience with the queen." After the attacks of earlier, guards immediately went up, suspicions immediately raised.

"What is your business with our queen?"

Black eyes, darkened by the shadows of the hood, gleamed with cunning. "To invoke the Amazon law of combat," Her hand flew to target Hippolyta, standing proudly above. "And to challenge the queen for leadership of the tribe!"

The Amazons flew into an uproar, excited and worried and scared all at once, and behind them all, Loki, Will and Dante just smiled and shook their heads at their favourite blue-head's antics.

* * *

><p>In almost no time at all, the tribe had formed the ceremonial ring, the two combatants eying each other whilst adjusting their grips on their spears as they circled each other. Three sets of eyes watching with interest, the Huntik team having been made to stay and witness the duel, as all who were present at the challenge had to see the fight. Not that Loki was complaining. She <em>loved<em> new cultures, and this was absolutely fascinating to her.

Will, however, was more than a little worried about letting a young girl fight against someone he knew could even give him a run for his money…and steal that money…and then everything he owned. "You can't let Hippolyta fight!" He hissed to Derima, who was accepting the men's presence only because her queen had told her be nice. As the cool grey eyes of the experienced warrior turned upon him, he searched for a reason other that wouldn't get Zhalia into trouble- a first, he knew. "She's just a young girl! She could get hurt" There, that would do.

Derima huffed, as if expecting that a man would have doubts about a woman fighting, then raised her head, proud and strong. "The Amazon law of combat has not been called upon in 200 years. But I have faith in my queen."

Loki sighed, running a hand through her golden locks in frustration. "This is pretty messed up." She muttered, then froze as a chill of fear and recognition rippled down her spine and through her mind. "Dante, the Organization isn't far off. Reinforcements are coming. Big reinforcements." Seeing the certainty and the spark of blue-grey mist that flickered in the depths of her eyes, the auburn didn't doubt her, but sighed and shook his head.

"This is their way." His golden eyes darkened with worry and anxiety till they were the colour of amber. "We're not going to change their minds."

In a burst of movement, the cloaked figure darted forwards, swiping her spear to strike. Hippolyta barely dodged, and as she rolled to avoid the strike, Zhalia leapt into the air, coming down upon the queen before she had a chance to recover. Again, Hippolyta barely managed to escape. It seemed that the blue-haired Seeker wasn't going easy just because her opponent was young.

An unexpected ache in his left arm drew his attention away from the fight. Loki- who had grabbed his arm at the start of the fight in worry for both combatants- was clutching it tightly, her brow furrowed and eyes squeezed shut, in pain or concentration he didn't know.

Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and she gasped, spinning. "Dante!" She warned harshly, a sharp edge to her voice. "Rassimov's here!" She felt Will still beside her, turning to scour the forest she was facing.

A cold, chill voice echoed from under the trees. "Mr Vale. I am here to collect the Legendary Titan of Body, Behemoth, and to take Miss. Lambert into custody for safe keeping." The blonde snarled viciously, her pet hate flaring- after being sought after for so long, any mention of belonging to someone, as if she was a pet that had run away and needed to come home, made her blood boil and her anger sing the cruel song of revenge. "It's in your best interests to hand them both over." The dead, black eyes slid snake-like to meet Loki's, before Rassimov looked back at Dante, telling himself that he had not looked away because of the demonic hatred in her eyes, that sent a touch of fear to freeze his heart, but because his main business was with Vale. He was, after all, the most powerful Seeker of the Huntik team…Although, his non-existent, unnecessary heart said otherwise…

Dante turned to Derima, eyes filled with concern and bloodlust; ready to fight but all too aware of the consequences. "You ladies should clear out."

The blonde warrior, regret clear on her strong features, shook her head. "We cannot stop a duel, no matter what. It is Amazon law."

Loki made a short noise of exasperation. "You guys seem to have an inconvenient law for everything."

* * *

><p>On the other side of the clearing, a snap of Rassimov's gloved hands had the suits springing into action. One suit summoned the worm-tongued Bonelasher, who howled his fury to the sky at seeing fresh meat to cleave with his black, blood-coated claws. A couple of suits snuck around to untie their unconscious fellows, bringing them back into the safety of the dark brotherhood. At the head of the group, cracking his knuckles in a move both casual and intimidating, Rassimov stood ready to claim his prize, if he was able to take it.<p>

Dante narrowed his eyes, then clasped Derima's shoulder. "We'll hold them off until the duel is over." Loki nodded beside him, struggling to make the older blonde meet her eyes.

"But once the duel _is_ over, you must take cover in the woods." She touched a gentle hand to the sling holding up one of the warrior's arms. "You are brave and noble warriors, strong and fierce, but pure strength cannot defeat these men. Without magic, you cannot win. Please, though you do not trust who I am, trust me on this." The two blonde's gazes met, and Derima started as she saw the flickering flares of blue-grey mist that glimmered in the depths of Loki's azure orbs. Her own steely eyes narrowed, hate-filled and sure.

"I know you are the one that my people's legends foretold." She hissed darkly, pulling her arm from Loki's grasp. "Though you seem determined that you would only cleanse the world of evil, I see in you the power to do great and terrible things alike. Be careful, Loki Lambert. One day, you may look upon yourself, and not like what you see. Your gift is a curse, both blessing and burden. Should another command you, I shudder at what the consequences might be. My people will leave when the duel is over, of that you have my word. Do not be here when I return." And with that she walked away, leaving the blonde to stare after her and wonder just what it was that Alcinoe LandBright had said that had so poisoned the warrior's heart and mind against her.

Shaking her head to clear the dark thoughts shadowing her mind, Loki turned back to face the suits just as an Impet and Ammit Heart-Eater appeared in the grassy glen. Will was at her side in a heartbeat, emerald eyes focused on the battle ahead. Seeing the girl's uneasiness, he grinned. "Tough crowd." He joked, and a light sparked in her eyes again, chasing away the last of Derima's bitterness.

"No problem!" She lifted an amulet to the sky. "Lindorm!" A burst of blue-green light, the same colour of the sea where she had first met him, formed into the familiar bear-dragon's shape. He curled around her, snarling, smelling the distrust that still hung around the air from Derima, not liking that someone had threatened his Seeker.

Looking within his Seeker, he saw what had so disturbed her. _"Ah." _He rumbled. _"So you have learnt that which you truly are." _The bear-dragon shifted in an almost embarrassed way. _"I should have warned you, Burning-Brightly, but I have long forgotten the ancient ways. Too many masters and years have come between you and Alcinoe LandBright." _

Loki looked up into his fathomless emerald eyes, like the demonic fires of Hell itself, surprised and more than a little excited. "_Your Seeker was Alcinoe LandBright? The prophetess?_"

Lindorm gave a low rumble, nodding slowly. "_Aye, that is true. I can see her in you. All LandBrights, or Lamberts as you now call yourselves, you all share those eyes. Those same eyes have seen many thousands of years pass like grains of sand in an hourglass. It is why I Bonded with you, Burning-Brightly. Your power, your blood… It is something very familiar to me, something very close to my heart._"

The blonde gaped up at the larger creature, stunned. "_Was Alcinoe…like me? Is this power something to do with my family?_" She paused, thinking, then added: _"Do titans even have hearts?"_

"_All beings have hearts." _Lindorm raised his head to glare fiercely at the suits. "_Even if you cannot see them, even if they do not beat as the hearts of mortals do. I will answer all your questions later, Burning-Brightly, but for now, there are more urgent matters to take care of!"_

With a start, Loki remembered that they were in the middle of a battle, turning to see Dante and Will, with Caliban and Cavalier at their sides, all four giving her the strangest look. She grinned self-consciously. "Sorry, I'll explain later. Just had some... issues to deal with." Will nodded, the confusion in his eyes clearing as he remembered that it was Lindorm that had first called Loki by the name that the Amazons now wished to kill her over. If he could talk to titans, he and Lindorm would be having words later. As it was, he settled for giving the titan an angry glare, and to his surprise, the titan of Saint George looked sheepish, if anything else. It was a strange look for a bear-dragon.

Seeing a wave of movement rippling amongst the suits, the Huntik team leapt into action, Seekers charging with their titans guarding their backs.

* * *

><p>Seeing the flashes of light and feeling the waves of power that emanated from the fight, Hippolyta gasped, turning to see with wide, frightened eyes. Smirking, Zhalia darted forwards, slamming the butt of her spear into the girl's side. "Sorry, no time outs!"<p>

* * *

><p>As one, the group split up, with Dante and Caliban running one way in perfectly in sync steps, like twins despite their varied appearances, Will rushing a suit that had made the mistake of standing alone, away from his fellows, and Loki taking Cavalier and Lindorm, and attacking the trio of enemy titans.<p>

Leaping across the clearing, coated in a blue Hyperstride, one roundhouse kick to the chest took out the lone suit. Pausing to smirk, Will was quickly back in the thick of it, though keeping an eye out for Rassimov at all times.

Feeling eyes on her back, Loki span in a swift, tight circle to fire a spell at the suit currently targeting her. "Raypulse!"

"Blasteater!" A green, Venus-flytrap-like head appeared between the suits' gloved hands, eagerly opening its gaping mouth wide to swallow the burning torrent of flames spouting from Loki's hands. The blonde narrowed her eyes, and couldn't help but think that her own, unique power would probably have blasted straight through to hit the suit's smug face. As Zhalia had once said, the usual laws of magic didn't tend to apply to her mist-power.

The suit lunged through the green shimmers of his power, a fist lashing out in a solid punch that Loki only just managed to avoid. Unable to attack herself, forced to defend against the onslaught of the suit, she just managed to catch his wrists against her own before grabbing them with her hands, putting all her strength into forcing him back. A gust of air ruffled her hair, and she risked a glimpse over her shoulder to see the Impet charging a beam of fire in its crooked mouth. "A little help here!" She called, and a flash of white-blue was her answer. Cavalier deflected the fire on his blades, then swiped once, twice, and the Impet fled. The blonde smiled her thanks.

* * *

><p>Hippolyta gasped as the stranger broke through her defences, and she leapt back, stumbling to fall down onto one knee. Narrowing her earthy eyes, she raised her hand, face set with determination. "You leave me no choice! Raypulse!" The beam shot from her hand, but was met with a blue-black shield. Both brown eyes met, and the Amazon gaped, dismayed and disheartened. "You're a <em>Seeker?!<em>" In that one moment, as she was stunned and shocked, Zhalia whipped her leg out, hooked her foot around the girl's spear, and knocked her off her feet. The Amazons watched gasped, hands flying to mouths and eyes stretching wide. The wind had changed, and everyone could see where it had blown.

* * *

><p>Dante grinned, joining Caliban's side again, after dodging a burst of power from a suit. Seeing their master dead ahead, he met the titan's not-eyes, and nodded. Together, they charged the black-hearted, black-haired man, and as they neared, feeling that he might need some protection, cast a Dragonfist to coat his hand in flames. As one, they pulled their fists back to punch, then loosed.<p>

Rassimov side-stepped Caliban's strike with a smug, little smirk hidden under his coal moustache. That smirk disappeared as he realised he had stepped right into Dante's trap, and right into the path of the auburn's Dragonfist. He flew backwards to land bug-like on his back, and the lion-like man gave a short, humourless laugh. "So, you're not invisible." He grinned. "That's good to know."

Rassimov snarled, his black eyes burning with a demonic fire as he clambered to his feet. "Mr Vale." His voice was as harsh as a winter blizzard, cold and deadly. "You've forced me to get serious!" He pulled two amulets from his robe in a harsh motion born of anger and humiliation. "Kopesh! Thornmet!" The vine-wrapped queen appeared from the deep shadows of the forest, her mask of gold gleaming in the sunlight, Kopesh at her side. He was a jackal-headed man with long, vicious claws, the crook of the pharaoh on his head, catching the light and casting it across the clearing, a stark contrast to his dark master and nature.

"Dante!" A shout behind Dante drew his attention away from the trio before him. Loki was racing towards him, Lindorm at her side and Cavalier guarding her back. He made to warn her back, but she ignored him for favour of reaching his side. "Go!" She urged him back towards the other titans, and the weaker suits. "Save your strength!" She faced Rassimov, and he was scared, disturbed, by the smile on her face as she did so, the fierce, wild light that lit up her eyes. The light was blue-grey, like a river and a fire all mixed together. It rippled down her hair in swells and waves, gathered around her hands and shimmered beneath her skin. Feeling the stare on the back of her head as she stepped forwards, the girl looked back over her shoulder. She grinned crookedly. "I can deal with Corpse-breath. Go on. Go."

Nodding slowly, Dante turned and ran the way she had directed him, some silent part of him amazed and stunned, but pushed aside by the part of him that knew he still had to fight. Had Loki's power returned? If so, why not use it to escape before? But then… she had known Rassimov was coming, had warned him that he was near… Could it be that Rassimov had Loki's 'soul' now…and the blonde was able to access her power through him? With a shake of his head, he pushed the thoughts aside. These were things for Loki to tell him, if she wanted, or for the spell-master Will to puzzle over. Right here, right now, he was a fighter and he needed to fight.

Loki grinned at Rassimov, seeing the white skin go a shade paler at the sight of her. A wave of her hand summoned her titan and Will's- who had decided to stick near her in this fight, knowing where he was needed best, and the training of his last master telling him to protect the young woman- to her side, before she charged towards him. At the blonde's command and gesture, Cavalier peeled off to tackle the dark Seeker's titans, Lindorm remaining stubbornly at her back till she narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed. "_Lindorm!_" She called across their Bond. "_Help Cavalier!_"

With a snarl, he span through the air as the great saw blade that he favoured, towards the French knight, whose blades were tangled with Thornmet's vines as Kopesh ran at him from behind. Seeing this new foe, the black dog-man changed direction and targets, racing to meet the bear-dragon's charge. It was a mistake, for not three seconds later, he was ripped in half and turned to dust.

Satisfied that they could handle themselves, Loki faced Rassimov again, only to find he too was watching the titans. Meeting her eyes, the black of night against the blue of day, he raised a hand. "Hopeshatter!"

A black-purple wave shot from his hand to smash against Lindorm's side, and the titan disappeared with a scream of agony and terror, back into green-blue sparks that danced on the breeze. "No way…" The words were barely more than a whisper. "In just one hit?" The blonde held out her amulet for him, eyes wide as she felt his pain and fear, before glaring at the black-and-white man. Even though he was annoying and a pain in the neck, and used to be a whole lot more bloodthirsty than she was happy or comfortable with, Loki loved Lindorm as she loved all her titans. While Rassimov may have just tried to make her fear him, he had only succeeded in doing the one thing he should have avoided at all costs. He had just made her mad at him.

With a scream of rage, she twisted her hands, a blade of blue-grey light, in honour of the place where she had first met with Lindorm, forming out of the mist rolling from her in a torrent of power and magic. As she neared him, she saw herself reflected in his pitch, charcoal eyes, a wild angry force, almost unnatural, her eyes glowing with this power she had been miraculously gifted. Reaching him even as he tried to stagger back, he hastily cast a shielding spell to catch her sword, but the blade remained unharmed, and she swung again, this time being caught on a similar blade of black magic, before leaping back under the barrage of attacks from the older, more experienced Seeker. She narrowed her eyes. Age may mean wisdom, but she had righteousness on her side, the power of good, of light. And light would always burn away the shadows.

Behind her, Cavalier swung his own swords around his head, flinging Thornmet to crash into the reluctant Nighlurker that had just managed to persuade itself to come out of the shadows to help her gang up on the holy warrior, causing them both to erupt into light.

* * *

><p>As the Amazons watched the battle with wide, scared eyes, Derima felt a black fear in the depths of her heart as Loki fought with the stranger that looked as if death had claimed him many a year ago, as sparks of blue fire flashed each time sword met sword. Within her mind and soul she cursed. This was the very power she had warned her people of, the very creature they had sought to destroy, been ordered to destroy, and now… She shook her head. This crow with the wings of a dove, this angelic demon, this white poppy stained red with blood, her pretended goodness had twisted the hearts of her people, and now the world would pay for their deception.<p>

* * *

><p>Zhalia also saw the fire that bloomed as the blonde's anger got the better of her, and turned to the girl she had now allowed to get to her feet, defeated. "I've lost." She heard her murmured dejectedly, hope lost and spirit broken. For a moment she felt sorry for the young ex-queen, but wartime was no time for pity.<p>

She looked down upon the young child, gave her a grim, stern look. "Now, you must hand over the symbol of queen-ship." As the girl went to take the ridiculous pointed hat from her head, the blue-haired Seeker shook her head exasperatedly. "No, not that. Your mother must have given you something special before she died, yes? Something like a ring?"

Eyes wide and doe-like, filled with hidden sorrow of a hurt not yet healed, Hippolyta pulled a small chain up around her neck, revealing the ring hidden beneath her top. Plucking it off the chain, she held it out. "All she left me was this." She said in a quiet voice, pain-ridden and mournful. Zhalia stopped herself from resting a hand on her shoulder in comfort- silently, she cursed Loki for making her soft, and the rest of the team for causing her to start to care for others, to understand what her actions did to others- and reached out a hand. "That's it…" She murmured in a reverent tone, eyes filled with awe, dropping the false accent. "Bubblelift." The small blue shield formed around the ring, lifting it to hover in her hand, and she gazed at it with undisguised amazement and wonder.

A cry turned her attention away, as Rassimov got tired of playing, and cast a spell of his own. The dark wave rippled through the air, eagerly, towards the blonde, but she deflected it with her sword, instinctively, both Freelancer and Lindorm teaching her through the Bond what they knew of human swordplay and weaponry.

The cry had not been the blonde, but the villagers, who found themselves targeted by the rebounded power, barely managing to dive out the way in time. Knowing that letting the battle go on any longer meant more chances for people to get hurt, be they strangers or the ones she desperately cared about, she leapt into the air, casting off her robe, her disguise, a sort of acceptance that she was coming back, coming home, not just helping the shadows and running, and called out to him, the lion-eyed knight that had saved her and stolen from her all in one moment. "Dante!" He turned, wide-eyed, to meet her gaze, and the acceptance and love in his eyes chased away the remaining guilt and doubts that plagued her. "I think you should have this!" She flung the bubble across the clearing to him, and he darted forwards to catch it.

At Zhalia's shout, Rassimov's eyes had flown to see the prize- one of two- that he had been seeking, and he growled as his auburn rival rushed to retrieve it. He raised a hand, the other keeping a sword summoned to protect himself from the wrath of the Irish girl still intent on revenge, and fired a blast to stop Dante in his tracks. A flash of sun on mist, and a blade caught the magic, briefly turning black as the fire burnt it, quickly renewed by Loki's power. As the immortal glowered at her, knowing he was defeated, she just grinned crookedly back before darting away, Cavalier running to protect her retreating back as she ran to join the others at the treeline.

She reached Will's side as Dante caught the ring.

The wave of energy that surged through the woods, the world, was intense, a magnificent flood of power that defied any to stand before it and live. It cast shockwaves through the ground, storm clouds gathering to witness its might, the winds howling as they found themselves being pulled towards it, a maelstrom of magic centred on one place.

The ring now on Dante's finger.

* * *

><p>And as those waves of energy, these tsunamis that covered the world in magic, that flooded the earth with power, the Professor felt them shake the ground miles beneath his feet from his balcony atop his tower. He snarled, much like the dog at his side, knowing that he was too late, and that the prize he had been seeking for so long had eluded his grasp.<p>

* * *

><p>The Amazons, scared and in awe, fled to their hidden places in the forest, disappearing like forest spirits into the gloom as purple lightning cracked the air. Zhalia stopped behind the teens, resting a hand on each of their shoulders in greeting, and they flashed her smiles, too absorbed in the scene before them to turn and say hello.<p>

Dante was floating above the earth on a cloud of white-gold magic, the winds whipping his shaggy hair and long coat around him as he stared down upon his enemies like a vengeful god. "Mr Rassimov," His quiet voice swelled with power, a sound akin to the roar of a lion overlapping his words, a challenge of strength from one who knows he is all-powerful. "This is not your day." He raised one hand slowly to the sky, his signature crooked grin tipping up the corners of his mouth. "Descend, Legendary Titan of Body, Behemoth!"

The earth shook. Later, that is all they would remember. The earth shook, and suddenly, he was there. A great hippo that stood as a man, tusks sharp and a deadly point atop his head, blue fires burning as his eyes. Blue and gold bracers wrapped around his massive wrists and calves, gems like that on his ring gleaming at their centre, and a mantle of blue and green hung from his enormous shoulders. He bellowed to the sky, as if challenging it to match his power, the power of the earth, and the shadow of the moon grew bigger and bigger, till they realised it wasn't the moon at all, but a miniature Earth. Lines of red fire, red as the blood that powered the body, its source of strength, wrapped around the globe and the titan's chest, binding it to its back, but Behemoth took the weight like it was nothing, as if it was no more than a feather. He landed behind Dante with an earth-shaking _'thud'_, the ground rippling at his touch, as if it could not bear to hold such might and power.

Loki gasped as the waves hit her, rushing through her and away, filling up her soul and heart and mind, almost enough to fill the gap that was missing, the aching hole. It washed away all weariness, cast away tiredness, a boundless strength greater than human flesh could withstand. Her eyes flew to meet the titan's own green fires, and she tilted her head to look at Will without letting them leave her sight, entranced. "This power…is…" She struggled for a word, a way to describe the feeling in her heart, and Will took her hand, his own eyes as wide as hers.

"Immense?"

"Familiar." The Casterwill gaped at her, then the titan, then shook his head. He opened his mouth to tell her that he'd never seen anything like it, then stopped, an image of a blue-grey wall of light, the soft touch of it as it chased away the pain and darkness, flickering briefly in his mind. He looked over at her, his head turning sharply to see her, this glowing girl of blue-and-grey, her luminous eyes fixed on the giant, wide and slightly dreamy, as if remembering things long forgotten, before she shook herself, and came back, looking down at her mist-lined hands. "Yeah, familiar."

A slight movement at the edge of her vision caught Loki's attention, a tugging at her heart and mind pulling her eyes away from the vast creature before them, and she turned her head to see Rassimov reaching inside his robe, his fear of the Legendary Titan, this colossal being, overriding his fear of her for one vital second. Narrowing her eyes, the blonde simply flicked a finger, and a burning, blue whip shot out and lashed his hand. Biting back a howl of pain, he met her smirk with a glare as he shook his smoking glove to dull the pain.

* * *

><p>Above them, Dante opened his eyes, glowing green with the power of the spirit under his control, before he blinked solemnly, and waved his arm. Behemoth copied his movement, and the earth leapt to do his bidding, knocking the entire mass of suits off their feet with one move. Gasping and gaping, the suits climbed to their feet as fast as they could, and ran, not waiting for the order. Growling, but with fear in his onyx eyes, Rassimov turned and fled too, calling a retreat as he ran, disappearing in the darkness of the trees.<p>

Loki's laughter rang out after them. "Bye-bye now!" She grinned. "Give the Professor our regards!" And as the distance between her and Rassimov increased, the blue-grey glow faded and disappeared, her eyes returning to normal, blue and human.

* * *

><p>It took several hours for the Amazons to believe it was safe and come home. When Derima saw Loki was still there, hiding slightly behind the others, she promptly stalked off, unable to complain as Hippolyta greeted them happily, though the young girl was slightly annoyed that Zhalia had known the others. She was, however, relieved to learn that the blue-haired woman had only fought her in order to get the amulet, and had no want or need for the crown and the throne. With a happy smile, she readjusted the hat on her head self-consciously, as if to check it was there and assure herself that there it would stay.<p>

* * *

><p>The remainder of the day, as the shadows of night crept closer, the team worked to repair the village and help the villagers recover after the attack. Dante, exhausted by his use of the titan, and knowledgeable Loki spent their day in the infirmary. The business meant that the auburn never had a chance to ask his student just where the power she had wielded had come from, but the thought was never far from her mind. Derima spent the day nearby Will and Zhalia, watching as they laughed and joked, their jokes always cutting and scathing, the only way they knew how to laugh, but both secretly and not-so-secretly glad the other was there, after what seemed like so long apart.<p>

* * *

><p>Night came quickly in the forest. One moment, the sun was hovering at the edge of the horizon, the next, the trees had swallowed the light, the orb of fire was gone, and the silvery moon came out to watch over the Earth. Hippolyta, in gratitude for saving the village <em>again<em>, offered the spare rooms that once belonged to her family in the royal quarters for the team to stay at, knowing some of her tribe- the name Derimachiea sprang immediately to mind- would be uncomfortable with them staying nearby. And so it was that as the stars that glimmered high in the never-ending darkness of space appeared in the sky, the team and the young queen found themselves around a wooden chest in the centre of an old room, four looking at it with curiosity, and one looking at it with painful hope. "This is what your friend Metz left behind." The Amazon girl had told them, and silence had fallen ever since, as each other them wondered what could possibly be inside.

"It's strange." Loki said at last, startling the group, who had grown almost accustomed to the silence. "Metz gave you that key, but the Legendary Titan wasn't even in here."

Dante shook himself from his stupor, pulling said key from his pocket and examining it again, seeing the way that it matched the design of the box. "What Metz wants is in this chest, not in my hand." He raised the hand, the ring still on his finger glinting in the sunlight, before padding quietly over the box and kneeling before the lock. Loki, unable to resist and keep her curiosity in check, crept to peer over his shoulder as he turned the key in the lock and, taking a deep breath beforehand, opened the lid.

The box was filled with a swathe of white cloth, lace and ribbon, a sepia photograph in its wooden frame, glass dusty but clear, resting on top. Seeing the picture, the blonde girl nearly falling over Dante's shoulder to see blinked, surprised. It showed an almost middle-aged man- Metz, presumably- standing with his arm around a young woman with tribally braided hair, black with two white streaks, dressed in a flowing white wedding dress, which was obviously the other thing in the chest, standing outside Notre Dame cathedral. Loki smiled warmly, her eyes filling with a few tears, as Cherit flew to land on her shoulder. "Oh my!" He croaked. "Could these belong to young Hippolyta's mother?"

The azure-eyed teen nodded slowly. "He must love Penthesilea so much, even now."

Curious as to what they were talking about, and some childish innocence in her desperate to know what was in the chest, after all the years it had stood closed, it was the mention of her mother's name that finally persuaded Hippolyta to look inside the wooden box. "Oh." She knelt on the floor, stunned. "He took my mother to the Outside World? She never told anyone." Dante, thinking she'd want to see, passed her the photograph, and she tilted her head to one side as she looked at it, confused. "Why is she dressed like that?"

Loki smiled, taking the child's hand and leading her off, so that the others didn't have to explain. "Well, Hippolyta, you see, in our world, when two people love each other very much…."

* * *

><p>A week of trekking back through the forest and the team found themselves home, but not for long. Dante was desperate to get the chest's contents- which Hippolyta had graciously let them take, even after Derimachiea had ranted for an hour straight about some ancient rule or another forbidding it, and once again mentioning the prophecies of Alcinoe LandBright- to Metz. However, in contrast with his other visits, this time he decided to take his team with him.<p>

* * *

><p>It was a very nervous trio of Seekers who waited beside Dante to go into Metz's room. The flight to Germany had been silent, each other them with their own fears and worries, the car drive to the manor house the same. The cool-glares of Lady S had not helped matters. So it was, with fearful hearts, that a rather amused Dante led his team to his mentor's bedside. The man was looking overwhelmingly better. The machines and curtains had been removed, as had the sickly purple patches and yellow tint on Metz's skin. Instead, he was sat up in his blue-striped pyjamas, eyes bright and cheerful, a little smile on his face as he greeted his surrogate son. Sitting on the edge of the bed, the auburn gripped hands with him in greeting, then pulled the photo from his pocket, the only place he had deemed it save enough to stay.<p>

The change in Metz's face when he saw his younger self and the love of his life was touching. New life sparked in his eyes, and years seemed to melt away. The lines of worry and pain softened, his back straightened, and his smile grew. It grew even more as the ring on Dante's finger caught the light from the window as he moved to lean on the pillar of the poster bed, Loki and Will hovering nervously and curiously at the foot, and Zhalia leaning on the windowsill, unsure about getting close. "So, I was right." He nodded to himself. "The curse only effects the fool who removes a Legendary Titan sealed away in its resting place." He looked up at his friend with true gratitude, chuckling in his deep, rich voice. "You pulled it off."

Dante beamed in reply. "To see you feeling better, any risk was worth it!" The auburn felt a little hand slip into his own, and he turned his head slightly to see Loki giving him a shy, happy smile. Metz noticed, and his own smile warmed, touched by this bond between two people. He could clearly see how close the team was to each other. Just as the amber-orbed Seeker had said, any risk would be worth it to defend and protect each other. They were devoted, a family. The German felt his old heart fill with light. His Dante, after so long alone and after so long with only him, finally had found his family.

Seeing the curiosity in the young blonde's eyes, a curiosity he was sure Dante had been prey to, pinned down by questions that demanded answers, Metz coughed lightly. "My little…malady, affects a source of a Seeker's power, his will. This picture…It has given me willpower to spare." He smiled gently, trying to reassure the shy teens that he wouldn't bite. "I'm glad to finally meet your team, Dante."

The auburn shrugged, grinning in return. "I thought it best not to inflict the energy of youth upon you when you weren't so up to visitors." Metz laughed at that, seeing the indignation in the boy and girl stood side by side at the foot of the bed. He could imagine those two were a handful, like Dante had been in his day. Ah, the mischief that boy could get into, if you let him! It was enough to drive a man crazy. He wondered if his boy ever felt that way about his wards.

A shuffle of movement caught his attention, and he looked over to see the boy give a formal sort of half-bow. "The pleasure is all ours, sir."

"William Casterwill," Metz answered cordially, then laughed softly. "Formality has no place when a man is in his pyjamas, my boy. Though," He returned the bow, as best he was able half-lying, half-sitting down. "I cannot express my gratitude for the help you've given the Foundation." If the light hadn't been so bright that morning, the older man would have missed the slight blush that coloured the brunette's cheeks at his kind, heart-felt words.

The blue-haired woman at the window padded a few steps closer with tiger-like grace. "Sir," Her quiet voice was almost lost, even in the silence of the peaceful countryside. Metz could tell from the way her mouth dipped down and her eyes crinkled at the edges that it was fear that was choking her words. "I've come to turn myself in. I'm a spy that infiltrated your group and reported on its secrets." To give himself sometime to think, the Huntik leader nodded slowly. He hadn't missed the way that Dante had looked, panic clear in his eyes to those who knew him, when she had stepped forwards, nor the look in his old student's eyes when he had talked about this woman on his various visits.

"Ah," He said at last, conscious of everyone's eyes staring at him, pleading with him. "Yes, I heard about that." The look on Dante's face clearly said _'Shut up',_ and Metz wisely said no more about what his student had said. "And, certainly, the Huntik Foundation cannot let an enemy spy go. So, we won't." If he hadn't thought it before, he knew it now, when Dante immediately, surreptitiously began to move closer to Zhalia Moon, his eyes protective, telling any who looked into their golden depths that he would not let _anything_ happen to her. In fact, the entire team began to position themselves between Metz and Zhalia, as if expecting the invalid to get up and attack her right there and then. "We'll make you a member, an official Foundation operative." Zhalia's eyes widened, shock and stunned and happy and sad all in one, and after nodded dazedly and taking Metz up on his offer, she buried her face in her hands to hide her raging emotions. Dante gently pulled her close and held her as she tried and failed to compose herself, and Metz smiled.

He had no doubt that had he not already decided to forgive her after her repenting for her crimes and chosen to condemn her instead, he would have a very difficult job getting hold of Miss Moon, or keeping her locked up for very long. Any handcuffs would miraculously break or open, cell doors too, and any trace of the escapee would vanish. Yes, he recognised the spark in the blonde's eyes. He had seen it before. It was the glimmering fire of a trickster. Oh, so like her father, this young girl was so very like her father.

"And, last of all, Loki." The blonde turned from smiling at her friends and teammates to look at him in surprise. She had clearly not thought herself worth a mention. "The indomitable Loki Lambert."

She looked at him curiously, some question lingering in her eyes, mixing with the strange recognition that seemed to show there. After a moment's silence, she tilted her head to one side. "Sir," She asked quietly, seriously. "Did you know my dad? Eathon Lambert?"

Metz smiled, as if expecting the question. "Ah, Eathon. How could I ever forget? You look more like him every day. Just as Dante was my charge, my best friend Simon," Curiously, this name seemed familiar to the girl too. "Took Eathon under his wing. That's right. We were a team in the old days. But," He added quickly as he saw the hope blooming in her eyes. "I do not know where he has gone. If I did, I would have brought him home long ago, Loki."

Loki smiled sadly, guessing that that would have been his answer, but still, any glimpse or hint as to her father's life past or present gave her happiness. But then, she frowned, and sighed. "Uh, Metz sir…Did you know me too?" She looked at him with a face that said she knew it was a crazy, silly, stupid question, but that she had to ask it anyway.

To their surprise, Metz gave a rumbling laugh. "I didn't think you'd remember. Yes, I met you a few times. You were only young though, a tiny little thing."

The blonde gave a surprised, joyful giggle, full of light and delight. "Yes, yes, I remember you! You used to come every few months to visit Dad. You'd always wear that big hat, and the coat with the really big pockets. You disappear into Dad's study and you'd sit and talk for hours and hours and it was always so _boring_." She blushed as she realised what she'd said, and promptly shut up. Metz laughed at that. She was just the same, the same energetic, vibrant, talkative child with endless questions and a bright mind to think of them all.

"Yes, I used to go to speak with him on Foundation business. He stopped going on official missions when you were born, but he always had some project or another going, and I couldn't think of a better man to ask if I ever had a problem." A wicked glint came to the man's eye. "Really though, I never imagined you'd remember 'Uncle Mess'. You never could pronounce my German name." Loki flushed bright red, and Will had to hold back a laugh as she glared at him, daring him to even snigger.

"Will," Metz admonished gently after a few moments of letting the Irish lass squirm. "She was only two at the time."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Yeah, 'cause that makes it _so_ much better." Suddenly, she froze, eyes wide. "Wait a minute…" She span on a heel to point accusingly at Dante. "You! You came once! I remember you, your eyes. I thought it was strange that two people had the same eyes!"

The team blinked in the silence that followed. "Wait…What?"

And then they all burst out laughing. Of course, Loki _would_ remember a man she would later meet 15 years later. And of course she would make the reveal as dramatic and funny as possible. The blonde could feel herself getting steadily redder and redder, hunching her shoulders and hiding behind her curtain of golden hair.

His arm still around Zhalia, Dante just stopped to watch this moment. His family, together and happy. Loki, his daughter, so precious to him. He had never thought he'd have kids, never though he'd want kids, but now he could never imagine anyone filling that place in his heart, or a time when she had not filled it. Will, his little brother or a son, smart and yes, he knew there was a time when the brunette hero worshipped him, but that was over now, and he was a friend in his own right, not just because he wanted to know the celebrity he thought he was. His father figure, Metz, sat there with his 'kids', like a grandparent the way he teased them and laughed with them. Loki and Will were now sat on the end of the bed talking with him, their shyness and nervousness forgotten, eyes wide as Metz told them one story or another, probably about his adventures with Eathon. And then, the beautiful, wonderful woman at his side, leaning against him for comfort and support, Zhalia, the love of his life, and all lives that followed. He would never let any harm come to her, and she to him. He could honestly imagine spending the rest of his life with her, everyday passing blissfully and happily just because she was there.

Together, all together, his family. Father, mother, children, and grandparent. Husband and wife, best friends and brothers and sisters and friends-that-might-be-more-than-friends-if-someone -can-be-made-to-make-the-first-move-and-stop-being -so-shy. His heart was warm and full, and meeting Metz's eyes, he saw that his 'father' felt it too. He wasn't alone anymore, and that was the best feeling in the world.

* * *

><p>After another half hour of talking and chatting, with the adults sitting on chairs at the bedside, and the kids sprawled across the end of the bed, Metz gave a rather convincing fake yawn- only Dante, who knew him, knew it wasn't real- and smiled apologetically.<p>

"You young people exhaust me." He said, with a smile that spoke of endearment.

The auburn took the hint when his mentor gave him the slightest, almost-imperceptible nod, and ushered everyone out of the room, saying that he needed his rest. At the door, he asked Zhalia if she would mind if he spoke with Metz alone for a moment, and she smiled and nodded, rolling an eye at the excited chatter between the teens. The man in the bed grinned wickedly again, and called out the directions to the cookies in the kitchen to the teens and, with a quiet '_whoop'_ , they raced off to find them, the blue-haired woman padding after them with a raised eyebrow and a grin. She paused long enough to hear Dante give an exasperated sigh.

"_Me-etz_, why did you do that?"

"Do what, Dante?"

"You know full well what I mean. You saw how Loki is. Can you imagine her with _sugar?_ And I'm going to have to be the one who deals with that."

"Come now, a little cookie never hurt anyone."

"You say that once you've dealt with a hyperactive prankster."

With a laugh, she padded after them, subconsciously putting her guards up to any tricks or traps the blonde might set in her sugar-hyped state.

The auburn flopped down on his seat by the bed with another sigh, whilst Metz just laughed. "I am glad," The older Seeker said at last. "That you have found them."

Dante lifted an eyebrow. "Well, more like they found me."

"I wouldn't mind if the family came to visit more often. You can come over whenever you like, you know." The pair shared a smile, knowing how long it had been since the younger had had more than just the one person he could call family. A thoughtful glint entered Dante's eye.

"Why didn't you say you knew Loki?" He asked slowly. "It's not like it's a big secret, or anything."

Metz looked a little embarrassed. "There are some things that Eathon told me that I do not know if I can tell her just yet. I wondered if ignorance might be best. But, I see now that it is better if she knows she is not alone, that her past is not gone. One day, I will tell her all I know. For now, let her play and eat cookies."

"And then bug me the whole flight home…" Dante grumbled good-naturedly. Metz laughed.

"Ah, but Dante, do you not remember the old saying? Welcome to Granddad's house. Children spoilt whilst you wait."

* * *

><p>AN: This chapter is dedicated to those who perished along the way during this epic quest of a chapter. I really didn't think there would be a lot in this chapter, an escape, some fighting, meeting Metz, but those three things turned absolutely massive. My mind runs away sometimes and its rather hard to get it back.<p> 


	66. Chapter 65 The Unseen Guide

AN: Sorry, but I might be inactive for a while. This is the last week of my exams, and the words _cram studies _comes immiediately to mind.

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 65- The Unseen Guide Part 1

_Metz Country Estate, Germany_

It was a few days later that Dante returned to Metz's side, alone this time. There were a few important things he had to speak with his mentor about, things that were best dealt with between just the two of them, but he had to admit his real reason was that he did not ever want a repeat of the cookie episode. Before the teens were ever allowed here again, he would have to make Metz see sense about giving Loki large quantities of sugar.

A bag of groceries in one hand as a gift, he turned up the collar of his trenchcoat with the other, against the driving rain and howling winds. It was a relief to see the promise of shelter, the lights shining in the windows of his old friend's home, and it was with a grin on his face that Dante ran up the path and unlocked the door.

A quick change of clothes later, and a trip to the kitchen to deposit the food, and the auburn was pulling up a chair to sit beside his mentor as the older man closed his book, realising that this matter was serious from the lack of a smile on his student's face. "Metz, I've got something on my mind." The younger man murmured softly, his eyes grave and face grim. A nod from the German, and he continued, still wearing the little, worried frown. "I think Eathon might have been closer to his great discovery than we previously thought."

The older man raised an eyebrow. "You mean, the Ancient Amulet of Will?"

Dante nodded slowly. "Yes." He looked solemnly up at his mentor. "I think his journal will lead us right to it."

Now it was Metz's turn to frown. "But, I thought you said the journal had been all but destroyed, illegible, unreadable. Surely, that is why you haven't followed his clues by now."

The gold-eyed Seeker grinned, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Casterwills have a spell for every occasion, including this one. Will found an old power for repairing things. He's trying to learn it now, to fix the journal and show us the way."

* * *

><p><em>Will's manor, Venice, Italy<em>

Will sighed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to stave off the headache he knew was coming, eyeing the little whale figurine on the table before him with frustrated irritation and annoyance. Maybe even hatred. After buying the cheap thing at a store a few days ago, they had taken it home and thrown it down the stairs- something, it has to be said, Loki had really enjoyed. However, it had taken several times for the blasted thing to actually break, and even then it wasn't very extensive damage, till Santiago had taken it away and returned it a good hour later with it missing sections of its tail and its water spout. Since then, he had been sat here at this desk casting spell after spell to try and fix it. None had worked, and now he was tired and grouchy and irritable.

Loki had long since learnt that a tired Will meant a mean Will, and was off playing somewhere else. If he listened closely, he could hear her and Cherit as they dashed about in the adjacent training room, probably fencing with the little titan just as they had been ever since she got bored of watching him fail to fix the whale. After creating a blade out of her mist, the blonde had found she quite liked fighting with swords, and was quite good at it too, but that probably had something to do with the mental tutorage of titans who had been fighting with weaponry for centuries before humans had even thought to make them. The day could often find them dancing back and forth across the room, the clash of foils the only sound as they both concentrated on defeating the other. For such a little creature, being able to fly gave Cherit enough of an advantage to match the Irish lass.

With an indulgent smile, Will listened for a moment, pretending to meditate like Santiago, positioned at his shoulder, was telling him to do. From the sounds of it, Cherit was winning at the moment, but the one thing he knew about Loki was that she always had something up her sleeve. A shriek and a burst of laughter, and he knew she had defeated the white titan, probably with a trick Freelancer had taught her.

He opened his eyes in time to see the girl pop her head around the door, eyes bright and curious, gold hair tied back in a soft bun, curls escaping here and there. "Sorry, am I disturbing you?" She asked quietly, cringing as Santiago gave her an exasperated glare. "Just checking how you are. You know you forget to eat when you're focused on a project."

Will raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk." She just grinned back, shrugging, when suddenly a ball of white streaked across the space to latch onto her head. Cherit wanted revenge, and a sneak attack seemed the way to do it. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on Loki's instincts kicking in. Blinded by fur, unable to tell who or what it was that was on her head, she pulled the titan off and flung him away from her. However, as they were in the china room, instead of him just falling to the floor or hitting a wall, he crashed through a blue, delicate vase, shattering it and landing amongst the shards.

Seeing who it was, and what she had done, Loki flushed bright red, flapping her hands apologetically and sheepishly. "Sorry! Cherit scared me! I didn't mean to, I-" She was cut off by a hand from the brunette looking at her with irritated green eyes.

Will just sighed tiredly, unable to muster up the energy to chastise her or Cherit for play-fighting in the china room, or anywhere that wasn't a training room. "I'll deal with it. Just go." Nodding, her eyes sad and sorry, the blonde turned and ran away, Cherit flying after her till the Casterwill called him back. "Cherit, you should know better to try and surprise Loki, especially just after battle training. Don't do it again." The titan nodded, before he too escaped.

Rubbing his forehead again, certain that he was going to get a migraine from all this, Will leant back with a sigh. They didn't mean to, but that pair caused trouble and mischief wherever they went. With no Dante or Zhalia around, it fell to him to keep them out of trouble, but he was just too busy to do so. He sighed again, defeated by his busy schedule.

A soft rumbling from above him, and from the windows, caught his ear, and he smiled. The rain was always a soothing sound, as much a relief to the clouds that bore the burden as it was to him. Rain, the opposite of fire, had always been a friend to the Casterwill. Sitting and listening, he meditated on the sound, trying to clear his mind, to empty it of thought and distraction. A shriek, almost inaudible, of joy and pleasure broke his concentration, and he heard the laughter and splashes as Loki discovered the rain. Cracking open his eyes he saw through the airy, bay windows at the other side of the room that she was dancing, face turned up to the sky to catch the droplets, like a flower after a drought, gasping for water.

Smiling ruefully at how the blonde had managed to worm her way into every part of his life, his best friend- _shut up, little voice that says she is more-_ and the one who shared his loves and hates, had his love, gave him her own, Will looked over at the fragments of the vase she had shattered, accidentally. Laughing, remembering her face, the cute, embarrassed look as she had blushed as red as a tomato, he waved his hand. "Findshape." The pieces leapt back together, as if some hidden creature was completing the jigsaw puzzle, then fused to fix itself. Getting up, still lost in his thoughts, it wasn't until Will put the vase back in its place on the shelf Cherit had knocked it from that he realised Santiago was gaping at him. "What?"

Following the ninja's gaze, he looked down at the mended urn. And looked. And looked. And then it clicked, and he gasped. It had worked. _It had worked!_ He'd done it, he'd used the power and he'd fixed it! Grinning at his bodyguard, the boy raced out of the room, calling for the blonde.

Of _course_ meditation hadn't been the answer! How could ridding yourself of thoughts and desires help a power, when all powers relied on a Seeker's strength of will! Willpower, determination, you could only have those things if you had something to fight for, to strive towards, a goal, a dream. And it seemed he had found his muse. Not the blankness that Santiago had taught him, that he had always applied to his spells, but the vivid, bright intensity of Loki. His thoughts of her, his _need_ to do this for her, to fix that broken part inside her that was shattered the day her father disappeared, _that_ is what had allowed him to use the spell.

Flinging open the door, he ran out into the rain, lifting her up and whirling her around, laughing. She grinned back. "Any particular reason for such a lovely greeting?" She asked, hope flaring in her eyes, so bright it hurt, as he set her down. Still laughing, he shook his head to rid it of some of the water, then took her hand, and led her inside. Not saying anything, he pushed her into the china room, pointing gleefully at the vase. Her mouth dropped open, hands rising to cover it, eyes as wide as the moon at harvest time, before she span and flung her arms around Will's neck.

"You've done it!" She drew back to look at him, her eyes shining, and he couldn't help but notice how close she was, this vibrant flame of life and love. He saw in her eyes that she saw it too, and they both blushed before taking hasty steps away. For a moment, he thought he saw a smirk on Santiago's face, but before he could even glare in his direction, LeBlanche appeared in the doorway.

Seeing the happy scene, he gave a little smile before bowing. Then he saw that they were dripping wet. "Young master, young miss, please, you shall catch your deaths of cold!" He ushered them upstairs to change- Loki was rather grateful she had brought clothes with her, as she was staying over whilst Dante visited Metz- then down to the kitchen where a cup of hot chocolate was waiting for them, steaming and frothy. Both teens gave their heart-felt thanks, already shivering a little, grateful for the knowledge and care of someone older and wiser. Downing the drinks, ignoring the fact that it was burning hot and scorched their throats, the pair quickly parted ways, with the blonde darting back upstairs to retrieve her father's journal, and Will going to wait for her in the main lounge.

* * *

><p>Loki took a deep breath, holding the book close to her chest, her heart, then padded quietly over to where Will, Santiago and LeBlanche were waiting for her, and put it down on the table. Will gave her a reassuring smile, then raised his hands slowly, eyes slipping closed. Even as Santiago made to led him through the meditation exercise, he began to glow a deep, oceanic blue, hints of purple and green threaded through the power as it streamed from his hands to surround the battered, broken book.<p>

It lifted gently into the air, the pages turning the same soft, loving way that Loki often turned them. As each page was quietly caressed by the power, it renewed, words becoming distinguishable, pictures reforming as if an invisible pen was drawing them one, one line at a time. A flare of blue-grey appeared as the two spells clashed upon the page with Eathon's signature, but it only served to make the spectacle even more amazing, more beautiful, as the mist-power rose from the book to wind its way, curiously, about the room, soft, shining tendrils of light that cast glowing shadows across the room.

Gradually, the light faded, and the power set the book back down tenderly before vanishing completely. Will slumped back, drained, but was caught by Santiago and lowered carefully into a chair. Despite his tiredness, the boy forced his eyes to stay open as Loki reached out and picked up the book, turning through the pages. A smile grew on her face, soft and warm and gentle, loving and kind, and her bright, tear-filled eyes met with the Casterwill's as she laughed delightedly. "It's here." Her voice was no more than a whisper, choked with tears of joy. "It's all here. Just like it was, just like I remember." Suddenly, her face changed, shock and surprise mingling with sorrow as she sat down slowly on the chair opposite Will's. "He…" She swallowed back her tears and tried again. "He's left me a message. I didn't read the whole book before…I missed this page…"

Will hesitated to ask what it said. The hurt and pain in the girl's eyes was sharp, born of long years of loneliness with just a dream for a friend, years of wanting and wishing Eathon would return. His hand heavy with weariness, he reached out and rested a comforting hand on her own, and she jumped, absorbed, before giving him a little smile.

She took a breath, and started to read.

"_Dear Loki,_" It began. "_If you are reading this, it means you are following in my footsteps, both as a Seeker and on my quest for the Ancient Amulet of Will. You may resent me for keeping so much from you, and for that I am truly sorry, but this secret world is not something I would have ever involved you in when you were younger. You've probably found that it can be a dangerous place, but also one filled with wonder and magic. Maybe you've already found that your skills as a Lambert and as my daughter have come in handy. I hope you know that I had always wanted you to come with me on this, my final journey, but time is short and you are still so small and delicate. Is it wrong for a father to wish his child stay so forever, that she remain as she is, such a precious, tiny thing? I don't know, but what I do know is this. Wherever you are, whoever you have grown to become, I am so very glad to have known you, to have seen you grow. And I am so very proud of the woman you will become._"

Loki took a steadying breath before continuing. "_But the fact that you are reading this also means that I'm in trouble, something I'm sure you've found yourself in many times already, my little fox. There are many secrets in this world. Some should remain so, and others are guarded so fiercely that it is better that they remain so. You probably have questions, and as I sit here, wondering what to write as you sit at the table across the room playing with your puzzles, I wonder how much to answer. There are some things I cannot simply write here, in case others should find this journal, but there is so much you need to know. When the time is right, you will understand, but till then, I hope you can forgive me for keeping things a secret. There is so much I haven't told you that I cannot write here. There is one who can help you, if you can find him. His name is Lukas Metz, and he is a very dear friend of mine. He can tell you what you need to know, if you ask the right questions. I have sworn him to secrecy, so don't worry, you can trust him._" Loki shared a wry smile with Will, and then returned to the book.

"_Some fear what secrets hold. Others want the power that secrets hold. Those that can speak the truth are the most dangerous and powerful amongst us. I'm looking for one such person, a wise man that can tell me about the sunken city. If I don't return, as I fear more and more each time I leave you to go adventuring, then this journal will be passed to you. Gods all bless, my little one. Remember that I love you, and all that I have taught you, and I'm sure we will meet again. __Tempus anima rei__. With all my love, Dad._"

Silently, she closed the book, her eyes wide and amazed, and it took her a moment to realise that Will was asking her a question. "Tempus anima rei? What does that mean? Is it Latin?"

She looked up at him, her eyes solemn and sad. "It's my family's motto, not the one of our name but our line of descendants. It's passed down from parent to child…" She sighed. "It's our last words, goodbye and hello, beginning and ending. It is the way we define our life." The blonde gave a brief, humourless smile. "Or, that's what my grandma said it meant, at least. She wasn't a Lambert…I don't even think she was related to us at all." She closed her eyes, remembering the woman that had raised her, the only grandmother she had ever known, though she now knew her to be no more than a nanny that had become a part of the family. "_Tempus anima rei_." The words felt heavy on her tongue, weighed down by the responsibility that came with them. Her hand fingered the marks at her neck gently. "_Time is the soul of all things._"

Stillness fell over them at her words, eyes drawn to the symbols glowing and dancing along her collarbone, before Will shook himself, and smiled. "Well," He said with some degree of certainty. "We have a clue and a destination, at least."

"At last is more like it!" Loki was instantly switched back on, beaming. "The sunken city, and a wise man! Aren't a lot of them around, are there?"

"The sunken city must mean Atlantis." The Casterwill muttered slowly, thinking. "The legendary city said to have disappeared beneath the waves, most accounts saying somewhere off Greece."

The Irish lass gave a laugh filled with wonder, and a little sarcasm. "Oh, because that is going to be so easy to find!" A silent voice in her mind said they would find it anyway, because to find the city meant to find her father, or his footsteps.

* * *

><p><em>Zhalia's Apartment, Rotterdam, the Netherlands<em>

Sharp eyes scanned the room, searching it for any other things that it might need, before turning back to the drawers and searching through them again. Zhalia nodded as she found her last hidden stash of cash, before running back up to her hastily packed suitcase, filled with clothes, different types of money tied up on bundles, bundles of parchments containing spells she had not yet mastered, and a few of her specially made pens that fitted perfectly inside her diary. She paused for a moment as she picked it up, debating whether to take it with her or not, then gently lay it inside. While Klaus would never gain information from it again, the secrets within made it too dangerous to leave lying around. And, though she would never admit it, some part of her did mourn the man that had raised her as his own. In her mind, he had died twice over, once when he had been turned to stone, and once when he had changed so utterly that he was no longer the man that she knew.

She stilled for a moment, thinking she heard something, then shook her head and carried on with her packing. "_I won't stay here and rot,_" She thought viciously. "_Just waiting until the Organization decides to make me disappear._" Shaking her head to clear away the darkness, Zhalia padded to her wardrobe, running her hands through them, thinking what to take and what to leave behind. For a moment, her hand rested thoughtfully on her old suit, fingering the ear piece that hung from the collar, before she pushed it aside again.

A knock, expected and unexpected, and completely unwelcome, came from her front door. "Who is it?" She called harshly, even though a sinking feeling in her heart told her that she already knew. A badly disguised voice, mimicking an Italian accent, told her it was a pizza delivery, and she scoffed. "Sure it is." She'd never ordered pizza in her _life_.

Taking down a few brown wallets from the shelf above the clothes rack, she opened the first one to see her face staring back at her, sunglasses and ear piece in place. With a shake of her head, she tossed it away, opening the next one to see it was just her, her normal passport instead of her suit's one. This one, she kept, tucking it into her back pocket with a smile. Where she was going, she was planning on traveling a lot, all over the world, with people she trusted and was trusted by and, as childish and as Loki-like as it might sound, having adventures and fun. It was a far cry from what the shackles of her past had bound her to, but today she had the key to leaving it all behind.

With this thought bringing a smile to her face despite the situation she found herself in, she split the clothes in two down the middle of the clothes rack, pushing them out of the way to reach the strange contraption clinging to her wall. Typing in the access code on the keypad, a series of bright red numbers began a countdown. She nodded. That should do the trick.

Running now, driven on by the quiet beeping from across the room, she snatched the money from her suitcase, and leapt down from the second half-floor to land, poised and crouched, before the door. "Come on in." She called, eyes glinting with the promise of violence. In answer, her door was blasted down, a pair of suits surging into her room, over-confidence and arrogant, their hands glowing gold and red with flaming light. "Shadowspeed!" The berry-purple coated her as she flipped across the room, dodging the twin Raypulses that sped towards her, grabbed the outstretched hand of the male suit, and tossing him over his own hip in a move both painful and convulsive. Feeling the tell-tale gust of wind on her back that meant someone was trying to attack, she span and leapt, a roundhouse kick slamming the redheaded female suit into a large pot filled with leafy fronds. Zhalia frowned. She'd _liked _that vase, it was one of the few things she'd actually bought for herself rather than Klaus getting her as a reward. Ah well. The entire apartment was going to go up in flames anyway.

The smashing of glass alerted her to more intruders as a trio of suits burst through her windows. She rolled her eyes. Five suits. _Five _suits. Did they really think that just five suits could take her down? She was the best of the Organization, second only to Rassimov, and they sent just _five_ suits to kill her. It was an insult, one that these sycophants would pay for.

Flipping head over heels across the room, she span to her feet to smash an elderly suit in the chest- which she felt a bit bad for, really, he should have retired at his age- and he crashed into a wall, slumping down it with glazed eyes. A crimson glow gathered around him, revealing he had managed to summon a titan before falling completely into unconsciousness, and the Redcap appeared, as loud, obnoxious, and just plain ugly as ever.

Jumping back to avoid its claws, Zhalia rushed a suit standing off to the side, using his chest to throw herself into the air, knocking the suit out in the same, effortless, graceful move. As she twisted herself to fall headfirst towards the floor, she narrowed her eyes, silenced the world, and raised her hands, pointing gun-like towards the titan racing toward her. "Boltflare!" The twisting, turning ball of light blasted through the Redcap, turning it into golden light, and as the dust cleared, the blue-haired woman twisted to land, cat-like, on her feet, facing the final suit, a dark-skinned woman.

The suit shied away, scared, black eyes looking around at the carnage, the chaos that this one woman had caused, before the sound of tires squealing drew her attention to the window. She padded over, leaving the suit to gape at her, and looked down to see three sedans and their cargo of suits pulling up to her apartment block, the sea of black dots tumbling out and running inside. An urgent beeping warned her that time was running out, and she turned to hurry past the suit and up the stairs towards her wardrobe again.

Some softening part of her heart- the influence of her new-found family, no doubt- compelled her to warn the woman below. "This place is going to explode." She heard the gasp, and the sudden pattering of feet. "Get your friends out of here!" Leaving them to it, knowing they wouldn't bother her anymore, she knelt before her closet, pulling open a draw in the base to pull out a circular device, before standing and pulling it onto her back, slipping her arms through the straps and tightening the belt section around her slim waist.

It was time to get out. Time to leave this life behind, and start again somewhere, someone, new.

* * *

><p>The suit's leader, a man with long, ginger hair, shielded his eyes as an explosion rocked the ground, fire spewing out of the top windows of the apartment building they were stationed around. Mouth falling open, he hurried to press a finger to the piece in his ear, gathering himself to report. "It exploded, I repeat, the building has exploded, sir." A murmur of voices came from the other end of the line, and he shook his head as the fire raged and burned. "No sir, there's no way anyone could survive a blast like that."<p>

Turning away, he missed the sight of Zhalia flying away, using the propelled glider she had retrieved from her wardrobe, its long black wings reminiscent of a butterfly's, as if she had finally reached her true self, the caterpillar escaping the cocoon, resplendent in all its perfect beauty. Landing heavily on a nearby rooftop, her clothes singed and charred, covered with holes, a few red burns showing through in places, she sighed as the cold stone beneath her cooled her almost feverish skin.

"That's it then. That's the end." She said the words to break the silence, one that she used to love, one that some part of her said she should cherish now, because with the… conversational blonde she was now going to be living with, silence would be a distant memory, but she was fine with that because it was different from what she had suffered through and mistakenly chosen for the entirety of her life so far. It was noise, filled with laughter and happiness and love, and right now, her heart said that was just what she needed. She shifted her shoulders, retracting the wings on her back, and sighed, tilting her head to the sky, filled with freedom, letting the sky cry the tears she knew she never would. Standing shakily, she fixed in her mind what she needed her power to do, and spoke the single word that would lead her to her new life. "Thoughspectre."

The purple light engulfed her, creating the illusion she had wanted, a portal to Venice- for while Thoughspectre's creations may not be true, whilst the power held them they were as real as anything. The last thing to vanish was her smile, free and wild and filled with joy.

* * *

><p><em>Venice, Italy<em>

Zhalia hissed as the rain fell upon her burns and cuts, stinging and smarting, turning her head to look as she knocked on the door. Wrapping her hand around the largest burn, the most painful one, she was faced with a sudden moment of panic, brought about by that still treacherous part of her mind that warned her against trusting anyone, that said that they would all let her down, cast her out, that said that they could never trust or forgive someone like her.

Before she could listen and run away, the door opened, golden light and warmth spilling out into the gloomy darkness of the storm. "Zhalia?" She turned to face him, saw the worry and anxiety clear in his eyes and on his face as he saw the state of her, then took the hand he offered her and let herself be led inside.

She was immediately led through to his bright, cosy living room, settled on the couch with one of his warm, thick trenchcoats wrapped lovingly around her shoulders, and given what she suspected was a tea he had just made for himself but had not yet touched. His concern for her touched her heart. It had been a long time since anyone had shown her anything but contempt.

He crouched before her as she shivered, from cold or fear she didn't know, his golden eyes filled with love and worry, and fear for her. She felt a chill in her own heart when she remembered the terrible, awful moment when they had held fear _of_ her. Eyes filling with tears- tears, she scoffed, when was the last time I was reduced to tears- she reached out for him with the hand that wasn't holding the tea, and he took it in his own, larger one, holding it against his cheek with tenderness and care. This action of love and adoration made her heart break even more. She couldn't understand how he could love her like this when she had tried to kill him, had killed others her entire life. "Dante," She whispered brokenly, bowing her head, ashamed that her emotions were controlling her like this, the ice queen whose melted heart was now falling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

Taking the cup of tea from her delicate hands, he slowly moved closer, as if trying not to scare her, and drew her close, pulling her into the safety of his arms as she shook, fighting tears and failing. "It's alright, Zhalia. You're safe now. You're with friends." Drawing back, trying to show that she was the same strong, independent woman of before, she couldn't help but be drawn to his amber eyes, the eyes of a lion. He too was drawn to her earthen pair of orbs, the same deep shade of chocolate, rich, expressive, even when she was trying to be as bitter as coffee. Pulled together by the magnetism of love, the truth and knowledge that they were meant for each other, two people destined to spend eternity, or as long as life would give them, at each other's sides, they leaned closer, and…

The door slammed open, scaring them both apart. Loki stood there, her blonde hair in bedraggled curls, sopping wet and plastered to her face and clothes, which in turned were plastered to her body, eyes wide and smile the same, filled with excitement and wonder and most of all hope. She could barely keep still. "Dante!" She yelled, grinning. Her eyes fell onto the blue-haired woman held close to him, but her brain didn't stop to wonder why, too caught up in the knowledge that her dad was _right around the corner_. "Zhalia!" She cheered. "Will learned Findshape, and he used it on Dad's journal and it totally fixed it and there was this note that said…" All this was said with barely a gap between them, and all in one breath, and as the girl trailed off, her lips slightly blue both from cold and lack of oxygen, she paused, giving the two adults a confused look. "Uh, why are you guys looking at me like that?" Dante and Zhalia were both frowning at her with fond exasperation, rueful smiles just tugging at the corners of their lips. "Do I have something on my face?" At this, with the girl crossing her eyes to try and see if her guess was right, Dante had to laugh, while Zhalia just shook her head, exasperated, knowing this wouldn't be the last of the many times the blonde would inadvertently and innocently interrupt them.

* * *

><p>After calling Will in a frenzy of excitement to tell him to come over- it was better that one person have to walk through the rain than four- Loki was also given a coat and a cup of tea whilst they waited for the Casterwill to arrive. The blonde was babbling into the silence, unable to contain herself with the knowledge she possessed, and both adults bore it with an affectionate sort of annoyance, knowing exactly how she was feeling. It was a sudden shock when she turned her sharp cyan eyes onto Zhalia and asked her just how she'd gotten hurt. The degree of concern in her eyes was clear, as was the warning about lying.<p>

The blue-haired woman shrugged nonchalantly. "My apartment was blown up."

Dante stilled by her side. "By who?" Zhalia could tell by his and his student's eyes that they were already planning the best way to hang, draw and quarter the nefarious bomber.

"Me." As they spluttered and nearly choked on their drinks, she couldn't help but smirk, some strange pride in her heart at being able to still surprise the seasoned detective and his astute pupil.

"Why on earth did you blow up your own home?" The auburn took her hand, the slight tremble to it belaying just how anxious he was, his worry for her. From the corner of her eye as she turned to look at him, Zhalia could see from the way that Loki was leaning forwards, her eyes fixed on her, steepled hands under her chin, that she felt the same way. The only difference was that the blonde obvious also wanted to know _how_.

"I blew it up with the bomb in my closet." She shrugged as if this was no big deal. "The Organization had decided to give me a house visit, and I didn't feel like much like entertaining visitors."

She could see Dante restraining the string of expletives that were running through his mind at the thought of her living with a bomb, if only for the sake of the young ears in the room. Zhalia was suddenly glad Loki was there. Whilst she was sure to be chewed out later, right now the blonde was saving her from the mother of all rants.

A knock on the door heralded Will's arrival, and Loki ran to get it, the sleeves of her trenchcoat rolled up and the hem nearly trailing on the floor to trip her up. As soon as she was gone, Dante took Zhalia's cheek in his hand, and made her look him in the eyes. "We are talking about this later." Was all he got to say, before the teens came tumbling into the room, Will's usual solemn or just plain sullen mood disappearing before the gleeful triumph of fixing the journal.

Will raised his eyebrows as he saw Zhalia sitting on the couch, and she tensed, expecting a fight, but the wicked glint in his eyes was not, as she feared, maliciously aimed at her. "How many of those coats do you have, Dante?" He asked with a sly grin, and the older man shot a similar smile right back.

"Well, in this line of work, you burn through your wardrobe pretty quickly." He winked at Zhalia and, surprised, she burst out laughing. The room fell silent to listen to the sound, the teens sharing looks with each other. None of them had ever heard Zhalia really laugh before. Biting her lips to hold back the laughter, the brown-eyed woman looked down, embarrassed, but a quick glance up showed her Loki's bright smile, and Will's own smaller one that meant they were not judging her, but happy that she was happy.

Dante, smiling at his family, leant forwards to regard Loki with stern, solemn eyes, even though a spark of anticipation glimmered in their tawny depths. "I know the area mentioned in your father's notes-"

Loki broke in, able to hold her excitement back. "Well, we're Seekers! Let's get down there and seek!"

The team paused, seeing the dangerous hope that lingered in the blonde's eyes like the traces of tears they were sure would follow. "Loki," Will's voice held a warning tone, his eyes worried, a little frown on his face, but it was Dante that finally voiced their concerns.

"Loki, those notes were written nearly seven years ago." He sighed. "You understand what that means, right?"

The blonde shook her head stubbornly, a mulish set to her usually easy going face. "We have to look." She said fiercely, daring anyone to object. "Or at least try." Her face softened again, her sudden bout of anger disappearing with the flare of her temper. "This is the first clue, the first actual clue, that I've got since I found the journal. No 'he might have gone here, let's check it out'. No 'This is an important artefact, he may have been interested in it'. A real, _solid_ clue." She looked at each other, none of them able to meet her eyes, unable to show her their disbelief that Eathon would still be there. "I _have_ to try."

Will took her hand, both comforting and calming her, a small, rueful smile on his face. "There's still the little matter of discovering Atlantis!"

Zhalia smirked. "Oh, I didn't forget." She pulled out her Technonomicon, opening a file and bringing up a plethora of maps and documents. "This is everything the term brings up in the Organization database. I didn't have time to search the encoded files before my access was cut off." She almost shuddered, thinking about how close she had come to leading the Organization back to her, to revealing that she was still alive, but the grateful, gleeful smile on Loki's face was worth it.

Dante tapped the image floating in the air above the woman beside him, and a map of the Grecian coast line appeared, alongside a few crumbling ruins. "Seekers," He looked sombrely around at them all. "We have a mission."

* * *

><p><em>Organization Central, Prague, Czech Republic<em>

"Rassimov." The voice slithered around the chamber like an oily snake, the speaker's face cast deep into shadow, one gleaming, blind, silvery orb the only visible feature glinting viciously in the scant light of the underground office. "You were the perfect operative; over a hundred missions and no failures."

The immortal kneeling before the desk could no longer guess if the growling was that of the Professor, or of the dog whose teeth he could see shining from the darkness of his master's lap. "Please sir," He begged, eyes searching the darkness that had once been his home for a face to plead to. "I can explain-"

"No excuses!" The roar thundered through the tiny space like a tiger in a cage, angry and filled with violence. "You not only lost, but to Dante Vale and Loki Lambert. With my gracious gift to you, you should have been able to _control_ her, to _inconvenience_ her at the very least. Instead, you allow her full access to her abilities, so that she can destroy you!" He snarled. "If she learns what she is, what she is capable of, then my entire plan falls into jeopardy. You will not let that happen!"

"But sir," Rassimov frowned, a flickering of fear passing like a shadow over his too-pale face. "They had recovered the Legendary Titan of Body, Behemoth!"

"Yes," The sibilant hiss echoed for a moment, then faded softly to darkness. "If they have any idea of the secret that the Legendary Titans of Mind, Body and Spirit possess, they'll be after the Ancient Amulet of Will."

At the mention of the amulet that had been so key to the downfall of his first, his only true masters, Rassimov's eyes lit up with a black, obsidian flame. He stood, and without leave, turned to flee back into the darkness. "I swear I will not return without it, or that Lambert brat."

He was almost at the door when the Professor's voice wound around him one last time. "Rassimov?" He paused. "See that you do. You don't want to know what fate awaits you if you return empty-handed again."

* * *

><p>With a quiet snarl, Rassimov threw himself out of the dark shadows that had acted as a portal between the Professor's domain and his own. Anger boiling under his skin like poison in his veins, he strode quickly across the room to a strange clump of rock that lay in one corner of the room, a queer pale green crystal jutting out of the top. "Just like Dante Vale, the Professor has no idea what ancient magics I have at my fingertips."<p>

He lightly tapped the crystal with the tip of one gloved finger, and it lifted itself from the rock, leaving a glint of gold and black beneath it, glowing before turning into acid that washed the stone away. A quintet of deformed scarab beetles lay in the hissing remains of their prison, four black and a gold in all. At their master's call, the Scarabese awakened, scuttling forth to do his bidding. The gold leapt spider-like to climb up the robed shoulder, twisting to place its shimmering, pulsating body over his left eye. A crack of light appeared along its length, and it split open to reveal an eye, one that would allow the wearer to see all that its brethren saw.

A manic, twisted smile pulled hysterically at Rassimov's lips, and he laughed, a sinister warped version of the happy sound. "_I see you._"

* * *

><p>AN: If I had managed my time better, I could keep updating, but alas, the foolishness of youth had trapped me in this endless cycle of revision and exams.<p> 


	67. Chapter 66 The Unseen Guide Part 2

AN: Sorry I was dead for a while, people! I had a very busy plate for a while, but I've finally managed to sort myself and my calender out and I have time to write again! Yay!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 66- The Unseen Guide Part 2

_Grecian Coast, Thessalonica, Greece_

The gentle waves of the sea lapped calmly at the shore, and for a moment, Loki tried to, as she used to back with the peace and solitude of her Irish homeland, let her own worries escape through the tranquillity of nature. For a moment, she allowed herself to pause, breathe deep and close her eyes. However, it was with another sigh, this one of weary frustration rather than serenity. This worry was too great to push away, too important. It consumed her thoughts with a ravenous hunger, greedily drawing in all of her attention and concentration.

_A wise man and a sunken city. _

The last clues from her father, all that she had to find him with now. If this lead, as all the others had, failed, then the path to Eathon would have gone completely cold, frozen and dead, as the others clearly thought he was. She couldn't let her hope die too. She had to hold on….and yet…

Two days. Two whole days they had been walking along the shore near to Thessaloniki, the now modern equivalent of the ancient ruins they were searching. Two whole days without a single hint or clue as to the location of the 'Wise Man'. The only lead they had was the data the _Organization_ had on the subject, and the blonde wasn't exactly depending on it. Whether Zhalia had gotten it or no, she had no trust for anything from that despicable group of Seekers.

Deciding to head back to the others, Loki retied her hair higher up off her neck to give herself a moment to think, then turned and ran back to the cliff face, looking down on the almost ant-like figures of her teammates, Cherit a mere white dot on Will's shoulder. She leapt from the cliff top, flipped once, then allowed the golden nimbus of Featherdrop to set her down gently on the shifting sands. Making sure her scarf was securely in place, conscious of the nearby city, she padded back to her friends, eyes carefully bright, happy and guarded, almost the same shade as her gossamer pullover, not letting the others know just how hard this lack of anything was for her. Knowing climbing would be essential, and not wanting to wear a skirt in a situation like that, the blonde was wearing the short-and-sweater combo from the Turkish mission again, despite the unwanted memories of a certain blonde, axe-wielding Amazon that came with it.

"According to the journal, the Oracle should be pretty close to here." She shrugged lightly as Cherit flew to wind comfortingly around her neck. "But I still can't see any signs of it. Or him."

The team carried along, knowing that Loki wouldn't want to stop, however small their chances were getting. Catching the looks his teammates were giving him, Dante knew it was his job to prepare the young girl if the worst came to pass. "It has been almost a decade, Loki. A lot can change in six years."

"Seven. And, I know." As before, unable to and not wanting to listen to their reason, she sped up, putting distance between the possible truth and herself, to scout ahead alone.

The team paused for a second, identical frowns on their faces as Loki continued to avoid facing the very real possibility that this trail was also stale, worried for their young friend, and for the consequences that might follow her forced innocence.

* * *

><p>As the sun began to descend in the sky, tinting the blue expanse with the slightest of coppers, the group caught up to Loki again, who was standing at the base of a tall stone fort, a ruin, but a clue nonetheless. After shooting them all a smirk, she tipped her head upwards. "The Oracle must be around here somewhere."<p>

With a small laugh, glad both for Eathon and his daughter's sake that a lead of some sort had been found, Dante nodded. "Alright, everybody, up and over we go." Dropping his bag, he pulled out two grapple hooks, spools of rope attached. In one easy movement, the auburn flung his line upwards, where the hook caught and held on the battlements above, Zhalia soon following suit with the second. Knowing how important it was to her, the blue-haired Seeker held her rope out to Loki, who took it eagerly, the light in her eyes slowly coming back as she grasped at this piece of hope.

"Boy," She grinned as she began to clamber up. "This is just like gym class!" Below, Will couldn't help but laugh.

"That may be true, but at least this has some point to it." He took the rope as Dante took his, both ladies reaching the top. "In class, it is a stupid exercise set by even more moronic teachers. Here, we get to visit Atlantis."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "Surely it isn't all that bad? I remember 'games' being one of the highlights of my school days." The Casterwill lad rolled his emerald eyes in return, sullen and moody.

"You've never had a teacher like Mr. Bianchi."

Above them, the blonde thought for a moment before shuddering. "Yeah. He made us play dodgeball every lesson-"

"-And he'd always join the popular, sporty kids' team-"

"-And then spend the lesson chucking really well-aimed balls at the kids he didn't like." Leaning over the parapet, Loki gave the brunette a Cheshire-cat smile. "Like us, hey, Will?" Seeing the smiles of his teammates as he hauled himself over the top, Will dusted down his clothes to hide his face.

"Yeah, well. Mr Bianchi never liked the kids from money, or the smart ones, and I was both." He risked a glance upwards, and finding the audience to be sympathetic rather than mocking, he shrugged and grinned at them. "And Loki was late on her first day, so he immediately had a vendetta against her."

"The fact that I was too fast to hit seemed to annoy him too." The blonde chirped, her attention already wandering from the story and along the wall, searching.

* * *

><p>However, none of them noticed the one-eyed black beetle that glared at them from the shadows of the opposite wall, hiding and lurking in secretive silence. "I see you, Dante Vale." Thought the man watching through the mind of the final, golden scarab. "Find me the Amulet of Will, Vale, find it for me so I may eradicate you!"<p>

Flying in his own chartered plane somewhere nearby, Rassimov seethed, and he snarled, and he waited till his opportunity to strike came, and he could eliminate them all, and finally fulfil the Professor's demands. The Amulet of Will, and Loki Lambert, all in one fell swoop.

* * *

><p>Gathering around their russet-haired leader, the team watched as Dante scanned the area with his Holotome, anxious of the results it would produce. Cherit, uninterested in mortal machinery, decided to look for himself, and came back a few minutes later bored and disheartened. "I don't see anything unusual here, Dante."<p>

The man shushed him as the Holotome emitted a sharp beep, and a section of the wall on the screen began to flash red. Humming to himself, a low thoughtful noise in the back of his throat, the gold-eyed Seeker tapped a few buttons before nodding slowly. "From what I gather, I'd say that the path isn't so much on the other side of the wall, as _under_ it." Shrugging, he folded the machine away and faced his teammates, gesturing to show that the issue was open to ideas.

Leaning against the opposite wall, her face shadowed by her hair as she looked at her feet, it was Loki that finally solved their problem. "I have an idea." She murmured slowly, raising her head to look at the offending piece of masonry with a calculative glare. "Why don't you have Metagolem just _move_ the wall over?"

Sharing a grin, the team stepped back as Dante pulled out the familiar purple amulet. "Excellent idea, Loki." Their Seeker flashing a vibrant violet, a soft cyan following as he decided that the stone giant might need some help, Metagolem and Caliban materialized ready and willing to work. Their instruction was simple. "Relocate that wall."

As the larger of the two titans shook the earth as he padded to obey, Will added in a warning tone a harsh command to be careful, conscious of the fact that this ruin had a lot to do with his absent family. Silently, Dante commanded his titans to do as such, knowing how dear this place was to the young boy, and how anxious he was that Atlantis be found. The amulet concealed there was a massive link to his family, and whatever surviving buildings and relics would also have particular significance to the brunette, but above all, Dante knew he desperately wanted to help Loki, however he was able.

Taking his sword in both hands, Caliban cut straight through the stone to section off the wall that needed moving, before stepping back to allow his cousin to do his part. The mighty mountain king took a tight grip on the wall, before his arms swelled with the efforts of his rock muscles, and it slowly began to rise. Lifting it clear of the tiny humans, the golem staggered for a moment before regaining his balance and placing the wall down a few metres away, clear of the gap, and clearing the gap, so that his master and his companions could take a look. With a smile of thanks to them both, Dante recalled both titans in a ripple of light to conserve his strength, watching with amusement as Will hurriedly padded forwards, trying to hide his excitement.

His voice, sharp with disappointment, soon killed all hope. "Nothing!" Zhalia quickly went to assess it for herself, but couldn't deny the total lack of any magi or portal where the wall once was. The only difference to five minutes ago was that they now had a clear view over the ocean instead of a clear view of a stone wall.

Her coffee-coloured eyes narrowed, the older Seeker turned to her younger companion as Dante tried to console the blonde, who shook off his comfort and stormed a short distance away to hide her tears. "Bad information?"

Will shook his head adamantly. "Surely not. Eathon wouldn't have misled us. The entrance probably requires some complicated arcane trick to open it. We'd better check the journal for the last notes that Eathon wrote before coming on this mission." They turned just in time to see Loki, her eye caught by a strange glimmer of light, cry out and fall out of sight. "_Loki!_"

His attention grabbed by the lad's shout, Cherit span from where he was keeping lookout and shot after the blonde, slamming into and reverberating off the blue-grey barrier that sprung into life the moment he got close. Sent flying, he crashed into the opposite wall, clutching his head where he had hurt himself on impact. He squinted against the spinning of the world to stare at the wall where his young friend had disappeared, unable to see anything but stone, and staggered closer as the others raced to his side. The nearer he got, the clearer the faint shimmer of the magic became, till, as the others arrived at his side, he could see the shield, and some sort of dark passageway beyond the glimmering light, a blurred and distorted image that he could barely make out.

By all the powers he possessed, Cherit prayed as he pressed a hand to the impenetrable barricade, let her be alright.

* * *

><p>Down in the darkness, the only light the soft and dreamy shimmers of distant daylight, Loki stirred, bleary cerulean eyes trying in vain to focus on the endless black of the cavern into which she had fallen. Her efforts to stand fell pitifully short as pain shot through her head like lightning, burning and fierce. Pressing one hand to her head, and feeling amongst the feather-soft strands of her hair the chill warmth of blood, she used her other hand to support herself as she forced herself to stand. Leaning heavily on the cold, rough stone, she looked back over her shoulder to see the way she had come, fallen like a star. A steep set of hewn stairs led back up to the real world, the light being filtered by a faint sort of gleaming light, the magic that had caught her attention in the first place. She had thought it a force field of some kind, but she had passed through no problem… But if it wasn't a shield magic, then why were her friends not here too? Her addled brain pained by anything resembling thought, Loki thought it best to just lean against the wall until she got her bearings, and then climb back up the stairs and re-join the team.<p>

At least, until she glanced back into the darkness and saw the almost dark glisten of light on bone. A skeleton, weathered by the ages, sat propped up near her feet. Grecian armour from the days of Hoplite hung like a sick mimic of fullness across his too thin shoulders, a round helmet settled low across the gaping sockets of his eyes, casting his face into shadow without the shape of the head to hold the helmet as it should. A sword lay abandoned at his side, rusted, well used, and bent so totally in half that it looked as though it might snap if touched. A second collection of bones was stretched out on a rock not too far away, some small creature that had wandered here as she had, and died here. Such was the distortion of its fragile form that it was unidentifiable, Loki unable to tell if it was dog or cat or some other poor animal that had fallen into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted to the shadows, she saw skulls and bones left scattered as far back as she could see, a story of death and desertion that spanned across millennia.

As far as she could tell, all that had come here had been able to fight. Nothing on their bones marked them as injured or diseased. None of the bones looked new, however, so the blonde tried to convince and reassure herself that the thing that had killed them was long gone. But, still…

They had simply come here…and died.

Deciding that leaving even if in pain was infinitely better to resting and maybe dying, Loki tried to dredge up some remaining strength to run when a cold, hoarse, guttural _hiss_ echoed from the black dusk.

"_There is no escape._" The figure that slid from the dark was once human, that much the Lambert could tell. Its yellow-green skin, like that of a long dead corpse, was stretched thin and tight over its skeletal form, grey patches of decay blossoming here and there like dappled shadows in the forest. The remains of a beard clung desperately to its sunken cheeks and withered chin, the lips pulled back by age to reveal yellow, crooked teeth that spoke of hunger and the rapacious devouring of all that it could find. Its brown toga, caked with dirt and dust, hung off its shoulders, again a parody of life, of flesh and _being_ that this…thing lacked. As feet with curling claws for nails toiled relentlessly to move, so did hands with yellow claws grasp at the crooked staff it bore and used as support, the sharp spear end digging deep into the ground to give much needed balance. The mouth opened, and that sibilant whisper slithered forth without movement or tongue. "_Your friends cannot help you know._"

Eyes wide and filled with fear, thinking again of the barrier she had fallen though, Loki knew the truth of the creature's words, and instead balled her hands into fists, standing in a shaky-at-best fighting stance. "Who, what are you?" The first thing that had gone through her head was zombie, closely followed by titan, but the human speech and obviously working brain had cast aside those suggestions as soon as they were made.

Her only answer was a hiss that carried in it the taint of a voice filled with pain and regret. "_I am Knowledge._"

* * *

><p>Emerald eyes scanned the shroud of light in desperation, looking for any scarce hint of life or movement. "Loki!" Will hammered on the magic, ignoring the pain and bruising of his hands, frantic and scared. "<em>Loki!<em>" As the others examined the wall anxiously for any sign of another entrance or a way around the spell before him, the Casterwill was left to feel his hope fade, like a light drowned in darkness, as Loki failed to return. Desperate, and not knowing why he hadn't tried it sooner, he span on a heel, dashed back to get some space, and raised his hands. "Breakspell!" The white-blue light shot from his hands like a bullet, and vanished against the light, leaving no mark as to its presence. Will paused, stunned, then shook his head, narrowed his hard, flat, green eyes, and raised his hands once more. His Casterwill magic could undo any spell. He simply wasn't trying hard enough. He needed to be stronger, that's all. "Breakspell!" The same result ensued, and for a moment, the boy just stood there, and stared, before sinking to his knees in defeat, head bowed and soul tormented.

Knowing it would do no good, but knowing that he had to do something, _anything_, Will surged to his feet, charging the barrier. When he just bounced off, he tried again, and again, till gentle hands caught his shoulders, pulling him back and holding him. "Stop it!" The brunette struggled to free himself from Zhalia's hold, but eventually his struggles slowed until he was leaning back against her, trying not to cry, his hands clutching the arms across and around his chest and shoulders as if they were an anchor in a storm. He shook, even as the blue-haired woman rested her head on his for wordless comfort, even as she spoke. "Calm down, Will! Pull yourself together!"

Loki was gone, and there was nothing he could do. _Again_.

Dante moved between the boy and the barrier, placing his hand against it to get a feel for the magic, the only way his senses would let him, seeing as he didn't possess the Casterwill sixth sense for magical energies. "I've never seen anything like it." He admitted slowly. "But, I'm sure it was created by a Seeker's power."

Catching the woman by surprise, Will managed to tear himself from Zhalia's grip, a bolt of lightning dancing between his hands before becoming the Cipherdex, appearing at his silent summons. "Cipherdex!" The noble's voice was firm and unyielding, not giving way to despair, keeping composure at all costs now he had managed to grasp it again. "Give me everything you have on force barriers, now!"

He didn't have to voice the thought that had spurred them on, that had flashed through all of their minds at the same moment.

Be fast, because Loki could be in trouble down there, alone.

* * *

><p>Blue eyes darted back and forth, assessing their opponent, and narrowed in fury. This must be what had killed all those people, and animals. Well, she was determined not to be next! As some form of thinking ability returned as she managed to shake off the most part of her dizziness, Loki allowed herself a small smile. She had one advantage that the rest of these victims didn't- Seeker abilities, and the allies that came with them!<p>

The decision to fight made, the young Seeker took action. Defence first, she thought as one bony hand reached out towards her, then attack. This thought in mind, she pulled a shield-shaped amulet from the pouch at her belt, the blue-and-grey metal catching the faint light that drifted down from above.

"Protect, Freelancer!"

To Loki, scared and alone in the dark, the medieval titan had never looked more magnificent than he had then, charging the creepy man-monster (the blonde had a moment to briefly reflect that men were most often the worst monsters) with his weapon sharp and aimed for its heart. To her surprise, the creature made no move to defend himself or even dodge the titan's attack. A chill settled back in the Lambert's heart, and a fell warning seemed to echo through her mind. This wasn't going to end well. She almost threw out a hand and called Freelancer back to save her strength, but it was too late.

The two collided.

As soon as the very tip of the armoured titan's spear broke through the filthy toga and touched the rotten skin beneath, Freelancer evaporated into golden light, streaming back to his Seeker. Through the flash of pain that came with her titan's return, Loki could hear the snake-like voice glide around her ears again. "_Titans cannot defend you. Save your strength,_" She could almost hear it smirk. "_Child._"

Even as she tried to move away, it cornered her against the stone and stretched out its hand, the skull-like face grinning in the darkness the last thing she saw before black flooded her vision.

* * *

><p><em>It was a memory, but she was almost unsure whose- hers, or the thing's, or the man she could see come tumbling down the stairs in the same manner she had. As the light caught his grey-blond hair, sea-blue eyes, and the strange symbol on the book that had fallen from his hand, Loki knew who it was, knew she recognised the face. <em>

_Her father, Eathon Lambert._

_Clambering to his knees, Eathon looked about him, and saw the decrepit form that had attacked her huddled in the corner of the cave, clutching at its bald head in a way that spoke of self-disgust and hatred, a low, anguished muttering emanating from its solitude. Unafraid despite the bones and fragments around him, the man approached the figure carefully. "Hello." The head snapped up, the white and sightless eyes gazing at him even without pupil or iris, and the thing hissed, both angry and almost ashamed at being disturbed. "It's okay," Eathon showed his unarmed hands, crouching down slowly to meet the creature's eye level. "I want to help. Can you tell me what's wrong?"_

_The same whisper she had heard sounded from the shadows. "The pain… The need… I must…I must know, must know all and everything. They said I knew too much and yet I know so little-" It cut off to give a tortured cry. "Cursed, cursed, cursed for all eternity, for all of _TIME, _because they did not like the truth, but that is all they wanted…"_

_Eathon frowned at the mad tirade, but tried to persevere. "Are you the Oracle? The Magi of Atlantis?"_

_At the names, the creature stiffened, before leaping for the other man and shrieking in agony. The blond caught the figure's wrists, holding him back as it screamed. "Wise? _Wise?_ No, not wise, never wise. If I was wise I would have never have said…Never have told…They know and they fear what they know and what they do not…" It trailed off into keening wails, clawing at its skull as it retreated back into its dark corner._

_Confused, but determined to help, Eathon tread cautiously back to the Magi's side. "This curse," He began slowly, not wanting to startle the Oracle into another frenzy. "Someone cursed you because you told them something they didn't like, am I right?" A miserable nod was his reply._

"_A powerful woman." The voice sounded closer to human this time. "She had a power above mortality. Lights and fire did her bidding, strange creatures came at her command, and all worshiped her as goddess." The milky eyes turned upon him again as the man-thing stilled. "She tricked me, she asked me questions that I was not meant to know the answers to, but I did and I _told!_" It sobbed again. "So she used her powers to curse me. I must know, I hunger for knowledge, not until I know will I be granted rest. But I have no place in the world, so here I wait for knowledge to come to me." One bony hand gestured wildly at the carcasses. "But when I take knowledge, memories, experiences, wisdom, they die, and I am alone with this…this _hate! _This hate and need that take my mind away…"_

_Eathon frowned, thinking, before reaching out his hands. "Hold still for a moment, alright? This may feel a little strange, but I think I can help for a while." A soft blue light shimmered between his palms and the man's head, gentle at first, then brighter till it hurt the eye to look upon it. At last, it was over, and it faded away. _

_Grinning in a way that would have been very familiar to Loki's teammates, Eathon stepped back to look at his work. The man was restored, skin and hair returned, eyes bright and working, a earthy, lively brown colour, all revived by the power that Eathon had used…Though what power, Loki did not know. _

_Overwhelmed, he grabbed Eathon's arm, laughing breathlessly with delight. "You! You've…saved me! Thank you! Thank you!"_

_Eathon calmed the man, though the smile would not leave his face either. "For now. I don't know the exact power behind your curse, but this should hold it at bay for now." Nodding, and realising that the cure was not forever, the immortal Oracle released the Seeker and stepped back. _

"_But you have given me time. I will answer any questions you have, in thanks."_

_The memory seemed to skip here, as if the person had not considered this part important, or as if the one watching had not paid very much attention. When the image refocused, Eathon was waving from the entrance to the cave, a solemn smile on his face. "This should keep you- and everything else- safe until I find a cure for your curse!"_

_A wave of blue light, the same one that still bared the cave today, shimmered into being from between his hands to encase the cave mouth. Below, unable to speak across the magic, the pair simply waved before Eathon walked away with purpose and hurry in his stride._

_Darkness came again, and Loki felt the memory fade._

* * *

><p>She opened her eyes as a deep weariness took root in her bones, slumping down against the wall as her legs gave out. A strong hand caught her, keeping her on her feet, and she almost jerked away till she saw the clear-sighted brown eyes that were looking down at her. This was not the curse. This was the Magi.<p>

"You?" He said in a voice that held strength and wisdom. "You are the child of Eathon Lambert?"

She nodded, pride and tiredness both clear in her eyes. "Yes. My name is Loki Lambert. Eathon is my father." She nodded again, letting the Oracle know that she was okay to stand on her own, and he backed away, giving her the space she desired. A spark seemed to glimmer in his eye.

"And yet you are not curious as to how I know. You possess your father's gifts, indeed." And then, so soft that she thought she was hearing things, "Or rather, he possesses yours. Hmm. Curious." Shaking his head to clear away the thoughts that were obviously bothering him, the man turned back to the confused girl. "You must share something, something dear to you both, which allowed you to pass through his magic when all others cannot."

An idea lighting up her eyes, the blonde pulled her father's newly repaired journal from her pocket. "Yes. This…belonged to him."

A gentle smile tipped the corners of the magi's mouth. "Yes. I remember it still, in my lucid moments. You know why your father came to me, why he sought me out. I shall tell you the same that I told him, for my curse will not allow me to tell too much. The gate lies hidden in plain sight, as are things that are most precious to you. Find the path of the Earth-shaker, and there you shall find the Earth that was shaken." He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Now, go. I will be fine here."

The blonde, paused, uncertain. "My father…He was able to help you. Can I replicate it somehow, and help you again?"

The Magi of Atlantis laughed softly. "Burning-Brightly, you already have. You are the blue fire that burns all- even my curse. The cleansing fire, you know why you can control it so well- be careful. This is the only warning I can give. Caution is a wise path to take."

Her smile tempered by the counsel she knew in her own heart- the faint humming that said Rassimov was not far away, hovering just out of the reaches of her mind- she bowed deeply, honoured that the Oracle would help her, and unnerved that he knew her 'other name'.

"Is it okay if I go now?" She asked quietly, looking up at the sunlight. "My friends are up there waiting, and they're probably a bit worried." With an indulgent smile, the man nodded, leaning on his staff with both hands. Without another word, Loki dashed up the stairs, when a thought made her still. "If the curse is gone…What will happen to you?"

"I will remain. That bit of magic has gone unchanged." The reply held laughter, hidden but heard. "You may have removed my hunger, my thirst, for knowledge, but I do realise that I have a lot to learn about the world. Maybe I'll get up the courage to re-join the world one of these decades." He winked at her. "You'll see me around, I'm sure." He turned to move back to his shadows, but paused. "Oh, that reminds me. Eathon left a message, should you ever find me. He said to tell you that you must be careful not to lose yourself, and that power is best used by someone with the strength of heart to wield it. I think he knew that you would come. Now go. There is much to do, and you know there isn't much time at all."

Amazed at the frivolous way in which he described the passage of time, she turned and hurried back to the day-world, where things made a lot more sense.

* * *

><p>Will ran his fingers through his hair in frustration yet again, trying to funnel his anger and impatience towards something more productive, less violent, and altogether less damaging then just throwing himself at the barrier. Pacing back and forth with the Cipherdex in his hands, he tapped at the buttons with increasing ferocity before slamming the lid shut and throwing it away, where it disappeared in a crack of light before even touching the ground. "I can't figure out what it is!" He ranted, flinging a hand at the barrier with fury. "There is nothing like it on any of the Casterwill databases! Nothing at all! All I can tell is that it is pure Seeker magic, something allied with the Huntik Foundation. No Blood Spiral or Organization spell would do something like this."<p>

Just as worried as the Casterwill, Zhalia had reverted back to her old mask of vitriolic venom. "So now what?" She almost spat the words. "Trial and error?"

A soft _'ba-doosh'_ sounded from the shield-spell. "Rocks don't work." The pair turned to see Cherit looking miserabley up at them, a rock in one hand, ears flat back against his head in despair.

Zhalia sighed, and surprised herself by trying to put a brave face on it all for her little friend. "Thanks Cherit." The creature shrugged, and for lack of ideas, carried on throwing little stones at the barricade, despondent and losing hope fast.

* * *

><p>A few paces away, Dante's lion-like eyes were narrowed, watching everything with a care and caution that spoke of a wary attention. He could feel eyes watching them, on his back, making the hair on the back of his neck prickle and his hackles go up, but he couldn't find them. With a barely concealed sigh, he padded back to the others. In a voice quiet enough to reach just them, his lips barely moving, he warned them of the presence his high-toned senses could feel. "Rassimov is here."<p>

"Where?" Zhalia's voice was automatically just as soft.

"I don't know." Dante's frustration was clear. "But he's watching us _right now_, waiting. Be prepared-"

He made to say more, but was cut off by the triumphant and baffled cry of the titan sat on the floor before the magic. "Or maybe, rocks do work!" His latest missile had flown right through, disappearing from sight as the magic rippled like a lake. As the light shifted and heaved, a shape seemed to form on the other side, before Loki padded through as if nothing had happened, grinning like a cat that had got the cream.

"Hey guys."

She was immediately tackle-hugged by a desperately worried Will, the others hanging back to watch the older teen rant at the girl he obviously loved, would never say anything about it to, and constantly had to, as he was currently putting it, rescue her from her own stupidity. After being made to swear that she would never do anything so stupid or reckless ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, _ever _again, Loki was released as her friend sighed, running his hand through his hair one last time.

"I'm just glad you're okay." He said in a softer tone, his eyes showing just how scared he was for her, even if he would never tell her so. "What on earth happened down there? And what was that spell?"

Grabbing his hand and grinning over her shoulder at the others, Loki just laughed. "I'll tell you everything, on the way to Atlantis!"

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry if it's short, but it is currently half one in the morning where I am, and lemme tell you, I almost fell asleep at the keyboard! I'll try and get a new chapter up tomorrow, but what with life and all, I can't promise anything. Sorry for the wait, and I hope it won't be as long till next time! Till then!<p> 


	68. Chapter 67 The Unseen Guide Part 3

AN: Sorry for the long wait, guys! School is now officially back in session, and with me taking a few more subjects that most in my year, free time has been a distant dream! Luckily, I managed to churn this one out in some spare time! Enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 67- The Unseen Guide Part 3

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Will said as the group walked along the dusty road, eyes dark with thought. "That shield magic, the one that doesn't appear anywhere in any database of any kind, was made by your father?" He looked thoroughly confused. As far as the Casterwill had been able to tell, there was nothing special about Loki's family. There was no mention of them in any of the old Seeker Doomsday books that were in his family library- and yes, he had checked, thinking it might help Loki with her power, or have anything about her curse- nor anywhere else he had checked. The blonde just shrugged, looking down at her own hands with a small smile.

"I guess unusual abilities must run in the family. Lindorm said Alcinoe was a powerful Seeker too." She grinned, her eyes moving to scan the road they were following along the shore. "At any rate, it's proof that Dad made it this far." Falling silent again, Loki couldn't help but wonder how she had managed to do the same. Her father's journal had been the obvious kick-start to her life in the Seeker world, and yet, in the vision that the Oracle had shown her about how he and Eathon had met, the man had carried the book with him right up until his disappearance. If that were so, had he snuck back home and left it there? And why hadn't he taken her with him, rather than leaving both her and the book behind? The cylindrical puzzle he had left for her- and only her, no one else would have been able to decipher the clues- was clearly an important artifact. Why then had he left it behind? None of it made sense, and the only one with answers had been missing for seven years, a silent voice that called her onwards. Shaking her head to rid it of the dark cloud and the anxieties it carried with it, she looked forwards again, knowing that she couldn't look back, but still aware of the buzzing at the back of her mind that meant Rassimov was nearby.

Sensing her upset and confusion, a rush of comfort flowed from the amulets swaying in the bag at her belt- noble Freelancer, impish Kipperin, quick Springer, loyal Hoplite, but loudest off all, the deep and earthen roar of Lindorm, her strongest titan, and one with whom her Bond had grown the most. She could still remember the conversation they had had, back home in Venice, after her discovery that his previous Seeker Alcinoe Landbright had been her ancestor. Due to the blurring hand of Time and the mists that she cast over the past, Lindorm's memories of her were unclear at best. Many masters had come between the two Lambert mages, so Loki had resigned herself to a lack of clarity. The few things she had been gifted had warmed her heart and given her hope for her own future. Apparently, Alcinoe had been a powerful Seeker, and a capable warrior who defended her Amazonian home from supernatural threats for many years. Her blood, the same blood that now flowed through Loki's veins, held a great power that Lindorm said was her family's birthright and inheritance. Unfortunately, Alcinoe was daughter of a side branch of her family, and while she held the name, she was none the wiser to the true nature of her powers, and thus, the truth that Loki too searched for.

One thing the bear-dragon had mentioned still had the blonde uneasy though. While Alcinoe had been a strong mage, she had not possessed the unique and exquisite mist-power that Loki herself commanded. It would seem that the answers to her own soul and self were still far away.

But, she consoled herself as she walked alongside her team, eyes bright and looking forwards, she was almost there. She had almost found the truth, and the person that would give it to her. Just around the corner, just beyond the bend, he was waiting after all these years. Her father, Eathon Lambert. He was so close, Loki could almost feel his arms around her, smell that comforting smell of aftershave, woolen jumpers and tea. She was so close now, she could almost see him standing there, looking back towards her just as she was looking forwards towards him. And nothing would stand in her way. Nothing.

* * *

><p>The eve-time came with surprising swiftness, the sky fading from blue to orange almost in the blink of an eye. Loki found herself looking at the sky in amazement, wondering just when it had gotten so late, and Will raised his eyebrow at his watch when he went to check the time. "We've been walking for ages." He muttered, sighing. "Loki, are you sure this is the right way? The place wasn't even on the map!"<p>

The blonde grinned, tapping her temple with a finger. "Relax, fusspot. The map's up here. The Oracle showed me the way- he owes my family a debt. I doubt he'd mislead me like that."

Dante rested a hand on the teen's shoulder, nodding towards the road ahead. "I'd trust Loki if I were you. There's something up ahead."

As the blonde dashed off to investigate, the rest of her team looking on with amusement, resigned and used to her hyper energy, the Casterwill boy gave his teacher a wry smile. "It's not Loki I mistrust. Just the cursed lunatic that tried to kill her."

* * *

><p>They caught up to the Lambert to find her stood in front of a pillar adorned with carvings, head tilted to one side in bemusement. The picture depicted three men, all in different poses. The first was about a third of the size of the other two, with a youthful face and innocence about the eyes. The second was a man of average height, strong of limb and determined of face. The final one was an older man, bald with age and face weathered by time. One hand crossed over his chest, the other outstretched, clenched as if it clutched something other than the empty space the fist contained. Curious, Cherit flew closer to inspect it, then flapped to perch on Loki's shoulder.<p>

"What have we got here?" He cawed, eyes alight with questions. "Maybe a puzzle, or a riddle?"

Loki wagged her finger at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as her quick mind tried to figure out the statue's significance. "It's not a riddle, as such. More like the answer to one- the riddle given to Oedipus by the Sphinx." At her teammates' questioning stares, her voice fell into a low chant, the rhythm rising and falling like the sea just beyond the cliffs they were standing on. "What is the animal that goes about on four legs in the morning, two in the noon, and three in the evening?"

The group fell silent to consider it a moment, before Dante nodded, decided. "Man." He tilted his head towards the carvings. "The answer is Man."

Loki nodded, delighted he had figured it out. "Exactly. So, crawling like a baby on four, and walking like an adult on two, but here," Her delicate touch skimmed the relief of the old man, and his empty hand. "The riddle is incomplete. The old, they have three- their own two legs, and the support of a walking stick. Something's missing, or rather, it's been taken away..."

Zhalia smiled as her eyes alighted on a twig not too far from the statue, and darted down to pick it up, quickly slotting it into place.

An expectant silence fell as the team waited for something to happen. After an awkward pause, Will sighed and turned to shrug at the others before preparing to move on, when Loki took a step closer, her eyes reflecting back some strange light that not even he with his Casterwill sixth sense could detect. She reached out a hand, hesitated, then as the others watched, thrust her hands into the stone. Cherit gasped, falling off her shoulder in surprise, as they disappeared up the the elbows into the grey-gold pillar as easily as if it was water.

Moving slowly, as if trying not to jostle something in her hands, the blonde drew her arms out once more, but now a chest of blue-gold lay clasped in her hands, gently held as if it was delicate and precious, about to break and disappear with the sun at sunset. With a little laugh of amazement, the blonde turned back to the others, beaming. "Can you believe this was just sitting here?" At their incredulous looks, she frowned, confused. "You... couldn't see it? After Zhalia fixed the riddle, there was a blue light and the stone fell away to show the secret compartment..." As their confusion deepened, Loki trailed off, a slight fear in her eyes, before she shook herself and chased it away, opening the box with a determined glint in her azure eyes.

Reaching inside, she was suddenly engulfed in a flash of golden light, streaked with blue, the same blue as the box and the eyes of the Lambert holding it. It was over in a moment, Loki staring down at her hands as they shook with the residuals of the power that had over come her. Worried, Will darted to her side, looking down in amazement at the box's content. "It's a Titan!" He exclaimed, beginning to smile. "And its already Bonded with Loki!"

The team grinned, crowding around to see the newest addition to their adventures, when Loki stilled, the hair on the back of her neck prickling as the buzzing sensation in the back of her mind changed to a roar, a warning and a threat all at once. Seeing the shift in her demeanour, Dante scoured the sky, his golden eyes narrowing with anger as he spotted forms flitting among the clouds. Following his gaze, the others too fell quiet, the blonde gritting her teeth as her hate and disgust threatened to destroy her control over the tenuous link to her magic that came with Rassimov's close proximity.

"Seekers!" Dante ordered as the team spread out, making themselves less of a target. "Prepare yourselves!" They each nodded, eyes steely and cold, ready to fight, as two suits in jetwings sped down towards them, evil intent twisting their faces into murderous smirks, like victory was already theirs.

Breaking away from the others, Loki pulled her oldest titan from her belt-pouch, running full-pelt for a fallen pillar, up its slanted length, before leaping off into the sky. "Grant me your wings, Kipperin!" She fell for a moment, before the vine-like tentacles of the butterfly Titan wrapped around her and carried her aloft, towards the enemies in the air, and towards battle. The gusts of his wings had the team below shielding their eyes from dust and dirt, as Zhalia pulled out an amulet of her own, smiling wickedly.

"Air support, Strix!"

A pair of giant wasps appeared in a burst of coppery red, flitting away to join Loki in the sky. Dodging twin Boltflares, the blonde tried to return fire with an Augerfrost, but cursed as she found that the suits' agility in the air far outmatched their speed on the ground, making it easy for them to avoid her magic. Making a tight bank in the air, she curved to maneuver around the suits, but instead found herself followed by them. Grinning, loving the thrill that came from a dogfight like this, she laughed and sped away, urged on by Kipperin's infectious love of flight and fight alike. A idea streaking across her mind like a comet, she flipped end over end to fly back towards the suits, hand signalling the Strix at her back into position. In an instant, they understood, and flew directly behind the emerald wings of their Titan brethren, out of sight and hidden. Seeing her charge them, the suits merely snarled, pressing buttons on their chests to unfurl razor blades on the tips of their wings, designed to tear opponents to pieces.

Down on the ground, unable to help and frantic with worry as Loki seemed to be heading straight to her death, again, Will grabbed Dante's shoulder, seeking comfort. "What the heck is she _doing?_" His eyes were fixated on the blonde playing chicken above them. "She's going to get herself killed!"

The auburn gave his young pupil a secretive smile, Zhalia the same as her Titans shared the plan with her. "Just watch. Loki knows what she's doing."

The trio in the sky kept on collision course with each other, every nail biting moment bringing them closer to crashing till, at the very last second, Loki flung herself down and out of the way, revealing her master plan as the hidden Strix flew right at the suits, giving them no time to dodge, and ripping two great holes in their wings, destroying them and sending them falling to earth and sea. Watching them for a moment to check for parachute failures- yes, they were her enemies, but Loki wasn't totally heartless- the blonde turned away and returned to the team, triumph making her smile brightly.

Will rolled his eyes at her, muttering something about letting her in on the plan next time, a Zhalia recalled her Titans and Dante nodded approvingly. "Nicely done." He complimented her quietly, pride shining in his amber orbs. The blonde just nodded in reply, high-fiving the excited Cherit as he zipped over, cheering.

Her smile was tempered by the continual _'blip' _at the back of her mind that said this wasn't over quite yet.

* * *

><p>Unknown to them all, Rassimov was flying just above the clouds, watching all with a snarl on his face and hatred in his heart. He clenched his hands into fists as his minions failed, black eyes burning like lit coal. "I expected better." The Russian turned his eyes to the team celebrating far below. An age old sentiment echoed in his twisted mind, as he reflected that if you wanted something doing, you had to do it yourself these days. He flicked a hand at the two suits still beside him. "Come. We're going in."<p>

They landed presently, and the abyss Seeker sent his lackeys searching for missed clues with a snap of his fingers. The footprints of the Huntik team were clear in the sandy soil, but he ignored them, glaring down a different road that veered slightly off to one side. With a huff, he set off down it, marching with a pair of suits at his back. The others, confused, paused at the road which the enemy had clearly taken. "Uh, sir," One particularly brave, or stupid, suit dared to speak out. "Vale and his team went this way."

"I've scouted ahead of Dante Vale and his team." Rassimov snapped, his eyes focused solely on the path ahead. "I know their destination _exactly._"

* * *

><p>A glint of light cast fleeting, flickering shadows across Loki's face as she examined the new amulet she had gained from the blue-gold box, which they sadly had to leave behind to retrieve later. She probed it lightly with her thoughts, but the Titan within, while it may have Bonded with her, was sullen for some reason, as if it were sulking. Shrugging, she left it alone to focus on Will's sulk instead. Noticing her questioning look, he sighed, giving her a small smile.<br>"I'm just confused." He muttered softly. "I've never seen magic like that barrier before, nor the cloaking spell that was used to hide the Titan. Can anyone explain it?"

"The journal is the key." Dante murmured. "Eathon must have used a power to infuse it with magic, which explains a lot, like how you got through the barrier, and saw the amulet."

Loki gave a little, helpless shrug. "Not exactly. While the journal seems to be able to be used as a temporary pass, as it were, I wasn't in contact with it when I first passed through the barrier, or saw the amulet. As far as I can tell, the magic accepts me because of my blood, the shared blood between me and my father. It's like... a family crest. Lindorm says that it's familar, so I guess Alcinoe must have used it to, but to a lesser degree." She turned the amulet over in her hands again, thinking. It was a lovely thing, coloured with different shades of gold, and in the shape of a spiked helmet. Where the head should be rested the amulet's jewel, a turquoise gem that gleamed in the light of the sun as if soaking it in. "On other matters, any thoughts about the amulet? I think it might have been Dad's, but it's not really talking right now."

Dante paused to look it over, a slight smile on his face as recognition gleamed in his eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, it was one of his most powerful ones. Can you sense its name?"

Loki closed her eyes, pushing aside the confusion that swarmed around her- why would he leave behind a powerful Titan, why would he leave behind his journal, why, why, why?!- and reached into the amulet, searching for the consciousness within. The being seemed to withdraw from her, a pain and hurt flickering briefly across his vast mind. From what the blonde could gather, he was lonely. He had been in the dark, masterless, for many years, and now he was lonely and afraid of being alone again. With a gentle smile, in her mind she stretched out a hand.

"_It's okay. You don't have to be afraid, I won't leave you. You'll never be alone..._"

"Baselaird."

As the whisper both in her mind and out faded on the warm and comforting breeze, a blue-green light poured forth from the amulet to form a figure standing tall and strong and protective by the side of his newest Seeker. Baselaird was a dusky purple-skinned man dressed in simply designed gold and leather armour, his helmet the same shape as his amulet. His left hand held firm a shield as tall as he was that even now he placed slightly in front of his mistress, as if to protect her, and his right hand was not made of flesh nor bone, but was instead a shining blade of gold, with a gentle curve to its length and a hook on the end. He stood two hands, maybe more, over even Dante, a true giant among men.

The Titan's attention moved to his side as Cherit flew to tap on his shoulder, grinning. Meeting the eyes of the newcomer, the little creature laughed, delighted. "Welcome to the team, brother!" In return, he was gifted with a warm and genuine smile that disappear up under the low hanging visor of the humanoid's helmet.

With the heavy clank of metal, Baselaird followed Loki closely as she darted to catch up to the others. They were stood before an old cluster of pillars, some standing and some not, around a dais of some sorts, like a homage to whatever had once been there. Zhalia sighed, hands on hips and exasperated. "Now what?"

Loki dug around in her pouch before pulling out the journal that had started it all. "Well, the last entries in here are seven years old..."

Will nodded from where he was inspecting a fallen pillar, brushing the ash and soot away from a gouge in its side. "These are blast marks," He murmured, standing slowly, his eyes narrowed as he looked over the rest of the temple. "And they look about that old too. Think it might have something to do with Eathon's disappearance?"

"Perhaps." Zhalia padded over to join them again, looking down at the journal in the blonde's hands. She flicked through a few pages, even though she knew most of them by heart, before sighing and closing the book, holding it to her chest protectively.

"This _was_ the Temple of Poseidon, " Loki shook her head, confused. "But all it says in the journal is that Dad was looking for some sort of secret passage. Dad knew he was being chased, so he stopped putting as much of the confidential stuff in here as he did before."

Humming and hawing, some small little annoyance nagging at the back of his mind, Cherit flew up and away for an aerial view. With a cry of excitement and triumph, he called back down to the others. "Loki, my girl, doesn't this look like the temple in your father's sketch?"

Remembering the page instantly, the blonde pulled the loose piece of paper from its place and held it up against the building before her, the others crowding around to see it too, save for Dante, who was prowling around the perimeter, his guards and hackles up after their encounter with Rassimov. "I can't believe I didn't notice the resemblance!" Loki waved up to her little friend, laughing. "Good job, Cherit!" Suddenly serious, she frowned, looking between the drawing and the real thing as she thought. "But, this drawing must have been done before the ruin... _became _a ruin!"

"Keep in mind," Dante warned them, his voice low and quiet. For some reason, the sudden increase in bugs had him on edge. There was something not quite right, quite natural about them. "That it was renovated by the powers of evil Seekers, and if we're not careful, we'll be ne-"

Anyone would have thought Dante was a prophet, for the words hadn't even left his mouth before Rassimov leapt over the very wall he was looking at, snarling and growling like he was more beast than man, a pair of suits joining him after a moment. In the shocked moment that followed, he cast a black spell at the auburn closest to him, who dived out of the way, glad that he wasn't just being paranoid and that something had been up. It was nice to know he wasn't going crazy.

Quick to take advantage of the confusion, the first suit, a stocky blond man, raised an amulet towards the skin. "Engage, Impet!" The spiky ball of cuteness appeared in a flash of azure light, chittering and chattering and shaking his head dizzily. The second suit, a brunet, thought to mimic his partner, but Zhalia soon put a stop to it, one roundhouse kick to the wrist and a fist in the stomach soon sorting it out.

"Kilthane!" Taking advantage of the little calm spot she had created in the storm of battle, the coffee-eyed Seeker brought her own ally to the field, and he appeared in a cloud of darkness behind a third suit that had arrived, startling him and striking him down.

Angered by this defeat of even one of his supposedly highly trained suits, Rassimov snarled a name that sounded more like a curse than a Titan. "Thornment!" The masked queen of the golden sands came swiftly, like darkness once fell over her beloved Egypt. Gold around her as a nimbus, she screamed her hatred and fury at the world.

Seeing the numbers stacking up against them, Dante reached for his favoured Titan, and he appeared in a haze of blue light, the white-haired Aztec. Not even needing to ask his Seeker, Caliban charged the enemy, but Thornment side-stepped at the last moment, allowing the warrior to run right past, leaving both of them unscathed. The two span in the dance of battle, before the masked Titan tripped and fell, the hook of Caliban's sword wound around her ankle, yanking her feet out from under her.

Squeaking as a Boltflare ruffled her hair, Loki ran to take cover by a fallen pillar alongside Will, who for some strange reason was smiling almost manically. Seeing the blonde crouch down beside him, he shuffled along to give her some room. "Let's get them!"

"Get them?" Loki blinked for a moment, before a similar smile tipped up the corners of her lips. "That's my kinda plan!" Both leaping forwards from concealment, the pair cast a spell in mid air, sending the two suits flying as Boltflares crashed into their chests. Landing and rolling to take some of the fall, Loki gave a wicked smile as she ended up closer to Rassimov, feeling the surge of power that came from her soul somewhere on his person. Noticing where his friend had ended up, panic flared in Will's emerald eyes, and he called his own Titan to the fray.

"Protect her, Sabriel!" Or in other words, please stop Loki from doing anything stupid and reckless.

"Lindorm!" Running as the green magic flowed from her and manifested as her most ferocious Titan, Baselaird moving to her side, leaving the suits he had been fighting on the floor, Loki reached inside her heart and mind for that thread, blue and grey and made of light, that linked her to her soul. Here, so close to it, if she almost-shut her eyes she could almost see it, a chain that bound her to Rassimov, entwining their fates until the day that this battle of minds and possession came to an end.

With a shout, she formed that blue-grey blade once more, taking some comfort from its weight in her hands, like she was meant to hold it there. Finally turning, fear flickering in his eyes as the trio of warriors- the bear-dragon, the swordsman and the she-devil- charged him, Rassimov threw up his arms. "Stormshield!" The purple magic surrounded him like a bubble, and broke just as easily as claw and sword tore through it, sending him stumbling back. With a roar of hate and anger, he clenched his hands into fists. "Enough! Face the power of the Ancients- Anubian!"

Glowing a gold that seemed black at its very heart, Rassimov smiled as his quartet of black scarabs flew to him, growing in size in each passing moment. The light took the shape of a cowl, Egyptian in style, but empty, the sleeves, tunic bottom and hood all bear and filled with light. As the group looked on in confusion and fear, each black scarab took the place of a limb, now as long as Loki's arm and as thick as a tree trunk, their eyes like boulders, their legs shifted to become fingers and toes and claws alike. Finally, the last scarab, the golden master of them all, detached from his master's eye and flew to become the head, its face akin to the death masks of the Pharaohs.

Rather than being scared as she should have been, Loki's vicious smile just grew as she shifted the grip of her shining sword in her hand, holding the blade flat and level as a challenge. A hand on her shoulder startled her as Dante and the rest of the team moved to her side, and past her, faces serious. "Loki, we'll entertain Rassimov. Only you can find the hidden entrance. As you said, it's in the blood." Nodding once, seeing the sense in her leader's plan, Loki waved her hand to disappearate the light of her blade, motioning for Lindorm and Baselaird to fill the gap she would leave, then span and ran back into the ruins of the temple.

Will watched her go, then turned back to the fight, a small part of his mind keeping track of Loki's energy flare so he could keep an inner eye on where she was and how she was doing. He cursed himself repeatedly, wondering how it was that Rassimov managed to keep cloaking his power and that of his suits from his Casterwill sense. The only one that could ever tell he was near was Loki, and that was because of the soul she and the creature shared. But then again, he thought with a shrug, Rassimov's magic was specialized to counter his. They were opposites, like two sides of a coin, like the shadow and the light of the Seeker world.

For a moment, a tense stand-off between the two sides of the battle left silence in its wake, only the distant sound of Loki's footsteps to break the quiet. Then Sabriel darted forwards out of the circle the Huntik Titans had formed around Anubian, her sword like a viper's strike, slicing through the neck of one of the black beetles. It slid through like the creature was made of sand, the body reforming in an instant, almost as soon as the blade had passed by, before the very hand she had sought to destroy grabbed Sabriel and tossed her aside.

The Seekers gathered around Rassimov, each keeping up a flurry of blows, working in tandem to try and land a hit. Unfortunately, the black Seeker managed to deflect every single one, and even managed to land a few of his own.

Silent, just beyond a fallen pillar, Loki was studying a hand that seemed to be coming out of the stone, reaching towards the sky, but the palm turned towards the earth. Resting her own hand in the same position, the blonde thought for a moment, but found her solitude interrupted by the Impet of before, who through subterfuge and trickery had managed to avoid conflict till now. Diving out of the way of the blast, she cried out as it almost caught her, and Will turned from the fight at the sound, knowing the voice and worry piercing his heart. "Raypulse!" The orange beam smote the Impet in the chest, sending it back to its fallen master in a river of light, and Rassimov smirked as the teen left his back unguarded, charging a cold blue light in his hand.

"Auger-" He broke off as Cherit tried to drop a rock on his head, bearing his teeth in an animal's angry snarl, furious he had been cheated of his victory. He span on a heel, catching Zhalia with a lashed-out foot, and sending her flying. Dante, worried and feeling his anger flare, made a brazen charge, the protective need to defend his friends and keep them from harm making him ignore the danger for one vital moment. He too was sent flying, and Will, seeing which way the tide was turning, called back over his shoulder for the blonde to hurry up.

Anxious that time was running out, the blonde's thoughts raced, unable to find an answer, when she stilled, frozen, noticing the spike that was protruding from the palm of the hand before her. Her thoughts flew back to the day before, not even an hour ago.

* * *

><p><em>"As far as I can tell, the magic accepts me because of my blood, the shared blood between me and my father. It's like... a family crest." <em>

_"Only you can find the hidden entrance. As you said, it's in the blood."_

* * *

><p>Realization dawned upon her like the sun shining after the dark night. Blood could not lie. Journals could be stolen, but blood, her blood, was hers alone. While the journal was a pass, it was her blood itself that was the key. Reaching out a hand and bracing herself for the pain, she took the hand of stone, wincing as the spike dug into her own palm. Almost instantly, a blue-grey shimmer surrounded her, and the pathway became clear. A wicked grin ghosted across her face, and she released the hand, turning to Will who had run to her side. "Guys!" She called to the others, waving to get their attention and then pointing to the pillar the hand was protruding from. "Let's go!"<p>

Hesitating, his mossy eyes filled with confusion, Will followed her towards the pillar. "But there's nothing ther-"

"No time for buts." Loki offered him her hand, keeping the other tight towards her chest, both holding the journal and sheltering her injury. "Trust me." With a sigh, he took her hand, holding it tight, and a golden light surrounded them, like starlight and the sun, before they ran at the pillar and disappeared within the stone. There was a bright flash, before the journal appeared on the ground beside where they had been, a ticket to let them pass through the gate.

Shrugging, confused but trusting the girl enough to go along with it, Zhalia and Dante ran, leaving the Titans to keep Rassimov and his monster amused and preoccupied, wincing as one by one, they were destroyed. Seeing his prey escape, he dashed after them, but was forced back when Lindorm charged him instead, roaring and swiping with his mighty claws, his very flesh becoming a saw-blade barrier to stop Rassimov chasing after his Seeker.

As the adults neared him, Cherit swooped down and scooped up the journal. "Got it!" He cried "Let's go!" Dante grinned, taking the book from him and motioning for the little Titan to sit on his shoulder. He jumped, startled, then smiled softly as Zhalia slipped her delicate hand into his own.

"Shall we?" He asked her gently, and she nodded, silent and sure, her eyes steely and strong.

Together, they ran headlong towards the stone, praying that Loki was right, both unable to stop themselves from closing their eyes just at the last moment. As they touched the pillar, that same golden glow appeared around them all, and they disappeared from sight, just as Rassimov reached them, having disposed of Lindorm. He threw himself after them, but crashed into the stone, unable to pass.

Screaming with anger and despair, he sank to his knees and roared at the sky.

* * *

><p>Deep below, Zhalia and Dante were coming to a shaky stop, their bodies still telling them that they were about to crash into something. The blue-haired woman took a deep breath, and smiled, relieved. Meeting Loki's eye, she raised a brow as the blonde smiled delightedly. "A final present from your dad?"<p>

"Something like that." With a laugh, Dante threw the journal back to its rightful place in Loki's hands, and she reached out to catch it, but winced and dropped it as it jarred the jagged cut in her palm. Will froze, eyes wide, then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm his temper.

"Loki?" He asked her, his voice that bit too level, too even. "What is that?"

"Oh, uh?" Loki gave a sheepish little smile. "The key to the gate was Lambert blood so I kinda accidentally on purpose spiked my hand?" She spoke it all too fast, hoping that it would pass them by, but Will persevered with the mess and tangle of words, scowling as he realized what stupid thing the blonde had done this time.

"Honestly, Loki, do you have any sense of self-preservation at all? Give it here." He took her hand gently, like it would shatter in his hands. "Everfight." Directing the fiery nimbus around his own body, he sent it down his arms to gather solely around the wound on Loki's palm. Using his advanced control and technique, the magic slowly began to heal it, and in a moment, it was as if it never happened. Swaying slightly as the spell took its toll on his strength, the Casterwill sighed, hugging Loki with one arm around her shoulders. "Try not to be so stupid next time, alright? I can only fully heal minor wounds. Any deeper, and that would scar."

Dante and Zhalia shared a look as the teens smiled gently at each other, each raising an eyebrow, both knowing exactly what was going on even though the pair before them would never admit it, before the auburn coughed lightly, and they jumped apart as if burned. "Right then!" Loki smiled brightly. "Everyone ready? Atlantis is just down here!"

As the team moved off, the blonde fought back a wave of sadness, the same sadness and sorrow that had blackened her heart for years, and she smiled through the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. This is what it had all come down to. This what she had worked so hard to achieve, to reach, her goal that was just at the end of this road.

Eathon was there, waiting for her, but now, the waiting was over.

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><p>AN: And here ends another chapter! Hurray... Now onto the next one before my free time runs out!<p> 


	69. Chapter 68 Coming Of Age

AN: You're in luck, my friends! I got a spare moment or two, and managed to wing another chapter for you! Enjoy!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 68- Coming of Age Part 1

_Manhattan, New York_

"Goodo," Guggenheim smiled politely. "Well, we're all here Metz! Now, will you tell us why you called a meeting of the Huntik Council?"

In the large hall, empty save for one lone, throne-like chair, figures of blue light flickered into being, each standing on a separate marking around the perimeter of the room, with each symbol marking the region which the individual was leading, save for the chair, who preceded over all. It was Metz, unashamed in his pajamas, who sat in this throne, watching all with dark eyes that sparked with mischief and merriment. Beside him, his right-hand man, the blond Swiss in charge of mission assignment. The others were a mixture of race, gender, height and appearance, but all shared that same steel in their souls, that same aura of power and magic.

The chairman smiled, seeing how strong his Foundation had become, and bowed his head in respect to his fellow members. "First, let me congratulate you all. By co-ordinating our operatives all over the world, you've given the Organization quite a run for their money."

A stately older woman, her rich brown hair not yet touched by the hand of time, her skin still firm and her will still unyielding, pursed her lips impatiently. "Yes, yes," She waved her hand dismissively, her french accent lending her an air of arrogance that her heart did not truly possess. "But tell us, are the rumours true? Our newest Seeker is Eathon Lambert's girl?" At her words, a hushed murmur rustled throughout the hall, each Seeker looking at their neighbours and muttering, eyes filled with shock and with something akin to awe. The Canadian representative, Madame Claire Beaumont, gave a little smirk, glad to have some standing among her peers. In fact, she had not known of the girl's membership herself until her team was sent to her beloved Paris, where she still had tabs in place to monitor the actions of her fellow Council Members. She had filed it away for such a moment- knowledge was power, after all.

Metz calmed their whispers with a raised hand, and slowly they quietened. "Loki Lambert is a name you will remember." He assured them with a crooked smile. "She is quite a Seeker, and already living up to her father's legacy."

A blonde woman with piercing green eyes partially hidden behind half-moon glasses, and dark hat pulled low over her unruly hair, was the next to speak in the silence that followed, her hands on her hips. "Now then," She flicked her fringe from her eyes, her distinctive Italian accent clear and sharp. "I take it you want us to put aside our rivalries and work in tandem?"

"You are quite right, Miss Uffizi," Metz smiled gratefully in her direction. "Dante's team has already succeeded in recovering the first Legendary Titan, but we _must_ reach the other two before the Organization, or the Professor with use them to make short work of us!"

At his harsh warning, the room's once friendly, even playful air vanished, leaving solemn responsibility in its wake. Metz looked around the room, meeting their eyes one by one. There was Landis Nasher, his dark eyes and skin contrasting sharply with the bright white of his suit, the operative in charge of information and research, and a kind man who cared for his underlings. Next was Madame Beaumont, a power-player who always had a trick card up her sleeve, but a valuable ally none the less, and the head of the North American division. Beside her was Miss Paola Uffizi, the woman in charge of Western Europe, and a leader whose severe discipline had won her a fair few enemies, but whose fairness and willingness to listen to the whole story had made her many more friends. Her partner, the robust ginger German in charge of Eastern Europe, Niklas Schmidt, was at her side, his usually jocular face stern and serious. By his side was Madame Beaumont's partner, Joaquín Momax, who led the South American side of things, and while plump and round, was actually one of the strongest combat Seekers currently in the Foundation. Lastly, was the mysterious masked woman in the red and black robes of ancient Japan, the blank white of her mask, untouched save for two black tear streaks down its cheeks, giving her an alien and austere look. Many times had the other council members tried to learn her name, or what she was in charge of, but it was a secret that she kept close to her heart, and any who tried to force the mask from her face was met with the dagger she hid as a pin in her blue-black hair.

These were his people. And together, they would stop the Organization, or die trying.

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><p><em>Underground passage, Thessalonica, Greece<em>

The darkness seemed to go on forever. The only sign that the team was actually moving anywhere was that the small cavern before this tunnel of sea-blue stone was getting gradually further away. Night was falling above them, and the day of walking and fighting was beginning to take its toll on them all, but no one complained or slowed, driven on by the harsh lines of Loki's face as she frowned, hands clenched into fists as she marched determinedly on. Silently, comfortingly, Will slipped his hand into the one that only minutes before had been bloody and hurt, and she jumped, startled, almost as if she had forgotten he was there. Looking up at her friend, the brunet saw in her azure eyes that right now she was at her most vulnerable- full of desperation, fragility and pain, this was both the furthest and closest the blonde had been to her dream of finding her lost father. Right now, she needed them more than ever. So, instead of lecturing her on hurting herself and pushing herself too far again, Will just smiled and squeezed her hand, and that pain seemed to fade a bit in her eyes, and she smiled back, holding on tight to the anchor he had given her.

Suddenly, the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to shift, growing brighter with each step, the hall beyond just about coming into view, and painful hope and anticipation tightened Loki's throat till she could barely breathe, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering so badly she felt like she was going to be sick. She paused, looked up at Will, and he gave her that encouraging smile again, and let her go. Unable to hold herself back, she ran for the light, blinded by its splendor after the half-darkness of the rocky path, the harsh path of life she had been walking for so long.

Blinking to clear her sight, as her sight was gradually restored, so did her smile gradually fade.

Gouges in the walls- burns and soot everywhere- claw marks- cracks- rocks fallen from the ceiling to leave gaping dents in the floor- everything bearing some taint of battle and death. Feeling her hope wither and die, her legs go weak, the blonde was suddenly glad for Will's steadying arm around her shoulders, keeping her up, the team gathering around her as if to shield her from the pain, even as her hands flew to cover her eyes, to keep back the darkness while she settled herself. She had to believe, she had to keep fighting, she had to believe that he had lived, that he lived still, that at the end of the unending road, he would be waiting with open arms. Without that dream, that goal, how could any of this be worth it? All the pain, the torture, the danger, the darkness, how could she justify what it had done to her unless he was there to make it all better?

Dante, his practiced eye scanning the room, hesitated, then bowed his head. "It was one Seeker... against many." Loki froze, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"One Seeker?" She looked out across the battlefield again. "It must have been... my dad." She shook herself once, chasing the fear and pain from her eyes and shoulders, and strode across the room to inspect the many-handled, golden double doors on the other side of the hall, ignoring the chaos and destruction to try and put it out of her mind. Behind her, the team shared a sad look, and went back to work, leaving their resident mastermind to solve whatever riddle she believed to be there, Cherit keeping close for comfort.

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><p>After a moment, Will silently beckoned for Zhalia to come over to where he was standing, keeping his voice low as he showed her what he had found. In his hand, he was cupping some of the dust from the blast mark on the wall beside him, and it glowed softly to his presence as his magic examined it. "This wasn't made from a normal Boltflare." He warned her quietly, his eyes flickering to the blonde on the other side of the room, and Zhalia automatically kept her voice gentle too.<p>

"I can't imagine what of made it, except..." Their minds both went back to the strange array of unique powers that Eathon had left them to deal with.

"You don't have to guess." Dante looked up from where he had been messing around with his Holotome, gold eyes amber with pain and hesitance. Behind them all, Loki froze again, looking around and trying in vain to hide the pain in her eyes. "The fight went something like this..." Pressing a final button, a faint green hologram sprang into life, little figures running around a replica of the hall they were in, but an unmarred and whole version as opposed to the broken one they now stood in.

"Don't tell me your Holotome can see into the past?" Loki cried, incredulous, moving closer to see despite her fear at what they would find out, curious as to this new ability the machine was displaying. Dante shook his head.

"It's a simple calculation from the available data." He told her quietly, watching the story unfold. The mini-Eathon was trapped in a corner, pinned down by magic fire, before he suddenly burst into life, sprinting away and firing back, then hunkering lower and pulling out one amulet, and then another. The Titans he summoned appeared as nothing more than gray blobs, the simulator unable to guess what they were, the same as the enemy Titans that the pair quickly destroyed. Slowly, Loki felt some hope return to her aching heart as the image flickered and faded away, running out of data.

"My dad took on all those guys at once, all by himself?" She smiled, feeling pride warm her heart, the hope that she could one day become as great as he, this legend and hero. Dante smiled back, his heart glad to see it again.

"And I think his enemies were the Professor's five strongest operatives." The team looked at him in amazement, and the auburn looked around at the extensive damage before nodding. "They disappeared seven years ago, probably here."

Loki bowed her head, thinking. "Just like Dad..." Suddenly, she turned away, striding back over to the double doors, all weakness in her shoulders and posture gone, her resolve strengthened by the knowledge that her father had fought so hard to get here. She would continue to fight, for him, for them both, and for the future they strove for. "I don't know if he made it to Atlantis, but I will, for him, and for the belief that I'll find him one day. I know that the battle was fierce, but if there's one thing I remember about my father," She turned and gave them a glorious smile. "He never gave up, and he never stopped trying, so neither will I." Without another word, she reached out her hands to clasp the two handles right in front of her, the ones in the place where handles should and usually would be. The team cried out, trying to dissuade her from the seemingly rash move, but she twisted them anyway, eyes steely and as hard as blue diamonds.

The doors swung open, silent and smooth, but most of all, safe.

"Hey," The blonde grinned, that mischievous spark back in her eyes. "Look too far, and you might miss the answer right in front of you. You taught me that, Dante." She smiled gently at him, gratitude and hope in her gaze. "And my dad did too."

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><p>As night fell on the surface, Rassimov's patience was wearing thin. There was no sign of the passage through which his prey had escaped, nor of any secrets that gave them the ability to find it. In short, his mission wasn't going so well. Summoning his minions to him with a click of his gloved fingers, he demanded anything they could remember from the fight.<p>

"The key seemed to be some book the kid was taunting around." One said slowly, trying to remember past the splitting headache Baselaird had given him. His master's eyes lit up, gleaming darkly as he reached into his robes.

"Interesting," He purred. "I wonder..." He drew from the voluminous depths of the black cloth a small plastic wallet, used for the protection of ancient documents. Within lay a double page obviously ripped from a book, the style of the drawings and of the writing ones that Loki would find overwhelmingly familiar. "The Professor did say this would be useful, and it seems to be torn from some kind of book..." The dark Seeker snarled, a vicious smile twisting his face, as he pulled the page free from its place. A golden glow surrounded him, and the pillar before seemed to stretch endlessly away into the distance, till it formed a small passage-way, the gate to the underground tunnel to Atlantis. Rassimov gave a chilling laugh, seeing success fall back into his grasp. He pointed towards the tunnel, tearing the page into pieces so each suit could pass through.

"Men! Onwards, to Atlantis! Leave no one alive save the Lambert child." His eyes narrowed. "And leave that Casterwill brat to me."

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><p>AN: Sorry for the short chapter, folks, but after this the episode is rather action-packed. This is the only natural break there was! Till next time!<p> 


	70. Chapter 69 Coming of Age Part 2

AN: Sorry for the wait guys! Here's the next bit. The end of the season seems so close now, its unbelievable!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 69- Coming of Age Part 2

The light coming from the end of the tunnel beyond the door was strange and shifting, glittering and dancing in tones of shimmering blue and scintillating azure across the ceiling and walls as they neared it, like the sky and sea at war with each other here beneath the earth. Curious, Loki paused to just stare for a moment, a soft, bemused smile on her face as she reached out a hand to pass through the lights, watching it glisten upon her skin, like the mysterious power she wielded. Shaking her head to clear it of these distracting thoughts, the blonde hurried to catch up to Cherit, who had flown ahead and stopped, almost frozen but for the flapping of his wings, at the end of the corridor.

Blinking at the sudden brightness, Loki moved to stand beside him, her skin tingling as the air about her seemed to change, as if it was heavier, thick was something, pressing upon her like a weight. Her eyes adjusting, the scene unfolding before her like a luminous flower, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open just like Cherit's beside her. It was unbelievable, an impossible mirage, and yet, there it was, for all to see.

Atlantis.

Not two steps in front of her, a barrier of light and shining kept back the sea, giving them a small pocket on a cliff ledge overlooking the ancient city. Inside a much larger barrier of the same make, the city sprawled and lounged decadently on the ocean floor, untouched, it seemed, by both time and the sea, a small piece of unobtainable paradise, forgotten and cast away into myth and legend, now found and brought into the human mind once more. The end of their journey, the last known goal of Eathon Lambert, her father, and the supposed resting place of the Ancient Amulet of Will, so close now that she could taste it in the salty tang of the sea air, the wet, damp feel of the air, the pressure of the ocean pushing down on them. All she had to do was step out, swim out, and it would be there, and beside it, her heart determinedly chanted, would be Eathon, or a message to say that he was fine and well and waiting right _here_, and that she would find him very soon.

A arm around her shoulder startled her, and she turned her head, almost unable to pull her eyes away from the sight of the sunken city, to find Will grinning at her with eyes filled with joy and his own private happiness. "Well, Loki," His voice held only mild curiosity, light and gentle teasing. "What does that look like to you?"

She shot him a devious smile back, seeing Dante and Zhalia arrive behind him, their eyes widening as they too saw the scene before them. "Let's see," She pretended to think, then held up a hand, fingers spread wide out, thumb tucked in. "Enormous sunken city?"

With a laugh, Will closed one of her fingers. "Check."

"Temples to Poseidon _everywhere_?"

Another finger was curled back into place. "Check."

"Casterwill crests and the symbol for the Ancient Amulet of Will?"

The brunette pushed the last of her fingers down. "Check and check."

With a giggle, the blonde smiled up at him, excited and nervous at the same time. "Looks like Atlantis to me!" Smiling back, Will leant against her as Dante inspected the barrier, eyes narrowed into slits of gold as he weighed the distance against their lungs. With a sigh, he stepped back, slinging his bag off his shoulder and hunkering down to rummage inside.

"Looks like we're swimming the rest of the way." He muttered, his tone so low that Loki wasn't sure if he was just stating the plan or grumbling. By the look in his eyes, he wasn't happy, probably because of the ridiculous amount of time it always took to dry his signature trenchcoat. Standing once more, the auburn tossed them each a little tube, a miniature portable breather, good for short stretches like the one before them. It wasn't as safe as tanks and masks, which could be secured to the body with straps and ties, but it was easy enough to hold it in your mouth for a little while.

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><p>The first step through the barrier was the strangest thing Loki had ever done. You had to sit on the cliff and slip into the water, like at a swimming pool, but the water was instantly around you, and you could still feel the emptiness of the barrier behind you, pushing you out into the ocean. Soon, though, everyone was in the water and ready to go, eyes squinting against the salt, Cherit merrily swimming with his head held high, as comfortable in this environment as he was in every other.<p>

In the silence of the sea, where sound was kept away by the water in their ears, it wasn't until a shrill cry from a voice that could work underwater cried out for help that anyone noticed the shark currently swallowing Cherit. Instantly, or as instantly as the water would allow, everyone turned back, hurrying towards the titan's living prison. The shark, sensing their aggression, gave a cautionary charge, mouth open to show them its rows of threatening teeth, sharp and a warning to stay back. Dante quickly coated his fist in a Stoneglove to combat their edge, but a rope of shining light shot past him from behind, burning in the darkness of the ocean as only magic could, first one then many, winding around the shark like seaweed, halting its charge, but leaving it free to writhe and move its tail. Glancing back over his shoulder, the lion-eyed man nodded to Will, who met his eyes and nodded back from where he floated beside Loki, who was shining like a beacon, a lighthouse to guide the weary and the lost, a light so obviously protecting that it warmed the heart to see it. Her eyes were tightly closed with concentration, a beam of light reaching out from each fingertip of her extended hands, her mouth chanting something to guide the mist-power, to keep control, and so, with loving and tender care, the Casterwill at her side kept one arm about her shoulders, holding her to him to keep her from drifting away, the other hand holding her breather to her lips, protecting her just as she was protecting them.

Turning back to the shark, which seemed to be eying him with something akin to annoyance, Dante tilted his head to Zhalia and she moved to swim beside him. Using the Stoneglove that still covered his hand in a protective shell, the older Seeker held the shark's mouth open, and the bluenette reached in and pulled out a rather bemused looking Cherit, who gave her a thumb up of thanks before swimming away to the protection of hiding behind the teens. Waiting until her teammates were safely out of range, Loki slowly released the creature, giving it a flick on the nose with one burning tendril to warn it away, and it quickly got the message and swam off into the distance, its specialised colouring soon rendering it no more than a blur against the water of the ocean.

His eyes checking over his team, and seeing everyone was fine, Dante led the way forwards towards the city once more. They paused at the top of the barrier, suddenly realising that the floor was now a long way down, and once they were past the magic, gravity would take hold again. With a smug sort of smirk, Dante simply launched himself through, falling like a stone before a nimbus of gold light, Featherdrop, enveloped him and set him gently, softly, down on the floor. Turning up towards where the others were floating, he held up his arms, and even from that distance Zhalia could see the love in his eyes, the promise that he would never let her fall, that he would catch her no matter what. Trusting him completely as she had never trusted anyone, she passed through the barrier and let herself fall. She slotted neatly into his arms as if she was meant to be there, and for a moment, caught in the spell of her proximity, instead of setting her down, Dante just held her closer, marvelling at the woman who he had found and who had found him.

Up above, Loki grinned at her friends' happiness, then paused, frowning. She knew that she could use Featherdrop, and that Will could not. She also knew that if she tried the stunt that her friends below had just done, then she would be squished flat. Not that Will was fat, or anything, he was simply bigger than her. She doubted that she could pick him up, let alone have him dropped on her and stay standing. Thinking, an idea suddenly presented itself as she turned her head to ask him his opinion, the green on his eyes lighting up her mind. Green, of course! Kipperin!

Reaching into her pocket, careful not to let the other amulets drift out and away, she pulled out the stone-and-twisting-strands pendant of her first titan, and called him out into the water beside her and Will. Without even needing to be asked, knowing his Seeker's mind as his own, the winged creature wrapped his tentacles around Will, forming the familiar harness. Meeting Loki's eyes, the Casterwill smiled his thanks, then held out his arms towards her, waving his hands even as she shook her head. Adamant to return the favour and to make sure his friend made it down safely, Will gave her a Look, his eyes hard and unrelenting, and finally, she rolled her arms at him and took his hand. Pulling her closer, he put her arms around his neck, holding her under her knees and around her back, Superman-and-Lois-Lane style. Nodding that she was ready, and taking out their breathers, Will smiled at Loki then, with Kipperin as his wings, broke through the barrier and flew down slowly, holding tightly onto the blonde held so tenderly in his arms, keeping her safely there. Loki, gazing around with interest and excitement, missed the look of his eyes, the gleam of gentle care and tender love that passed through them for a moment before it was quickly hidden behind the mask of friendship again.

Settling down softly, surrounded by green light as Loki called back her titan, Dante and Zhalia, who was still held in Dante's arms, shared a secretive smile at the lingering touches that passed between the teens, without them even knowing, as the Casterwill set her down and as the blonde smiled up at him, sharing some joke about how she probably would have gotten hurt if left to find her own way down. Reluctant to put down his own love, and reluctant to disturb the pretty little scene playing out before him, the auburn cleared his throat to get their attention, and the pair jumped in a way that was rather cute and adorable, obviously having forgotten that the others were there.

Zhalia, unashamed of her current position, raised an eyebrow at them. "So," She focused her gaze on the Casterwill, seeing as this city was one built by his people. "Where to now?"

Will took a moment to get his bearings, then nodded, almost to himself, before pointing down a side street. "If we go down here it'll take us to the main street through the middle of the city. From there, we head to the temple at Atlantis's heart. Its covered with my family's symbols." Quietly, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear the painful hope in his voice, he went on. "It might even be a Casterwill compound, judging by the markings. That would make it the only one left that I know of in the world. Seems as good a place to start as any."

Letting the brunette take the lead, the inquisitive blonde at his side, as almost-ever-present as always, with Cherit sitting and swaying on her shoulder, Dante gently put Zhalia down and the two stood together for a moment, watching with serene smiles as love blossomed slowly in front of them, sweet as summer flowers and just as pure, before hurrying hand in hand to follow. Privately, Dante was glad of the water-expelling barrier, for their clothes were perfectly dry. Thank goodness for small mercies.

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><p>Will slowed as he neared the maybe-compound, unsure as to whether he wanted to go in or not, fearing disappointment and hurt, but Loki took his hand in comfort and pulled him along towards the door whether he wanted to go through or not. However, just before they reached the archway leading into the courtyard of the building, a shimmering light barred the way, a strange floating figure with wavering outlines standing, or rather floating, in the way. His cream hair was teased up into two spikes on the top of his head, like ears, and the crown of his head of bald, making his hair seem almost like a wreath of victory. His skin was a faint blue, not enough to make him seem monstrous, but enough to mark him as not-human, and his eyes shone with a ghostly silver light, as if casting holy light onto all they saw. A green priest's skirt, tied with a belt of gold, cascaded down towards the Seekers below, hiding his feet, before disappearing into nothingness, making the figure seem more ghostly than ever. Two shoulder pads of the same luminous green hung on his shoulders, leaving his chest bare, but the nakedness of his chest was clothed by the luxurious and frankly absurd length of his thick beard, the same creamy not-white of his hair. Arms with bangle-ridden wrists crossed over the beard, and the fingernails of the artisan hands were long and claw-like, inhumanly so. Loki fixed the stranger with a piercing stare.<p>

"I'd call you the ghost of a Casterwill Seeker," She told the figure with an edge to her voice, cautious but not aggressive. "But you don't look human enough for that." Will shook his head, scanning the being before pursing his lips.

"It's not a ghost, nor was it ever living." He muttered softly to the team as the floating individual watched. "It's a spell that was left to guard the compound- Enchantment Spell Argus, One Hundred Eyed Watcher." Dante raised an eyebrow at the title.

"A trap power that can think for itself? Ancient Casterwill Seekers knew their stuff." He thought for a moment. "Can you disarm it with Breakspell?" Will shook his head.

"It's too strong for a single Seeker to destroy, and none of you can use the Casterwill spells to help. Argus requires the co-operation of fifty Casterwills to incant to the spell- that's where the 'one hundred eyes' comes from. Argus never had that many eyes- it was the combined effort of the eyes that gave him 'life'. His strength is the power of the spell- only an equal or increased number of Casterwill Seekers can disable the enchantment. Luckily, I know his weakness." Without any further explanation, Will stepped forwards. A change seemed to come over him as he stood before the guard of the citadel, a subtle difference in his bearing, in the straightness of his shoulders, of the stiffness of his spine, his eyes stern and dark, his mouth firm and unyielding, each part of him becoming more noble and becoming of his stature. The eyes of the spell moved to regard him coolly, not moving an inch.

"Argus!" Will, no, William Casterwill called out to the creature, his voice filled with command and accepting nothing but obedience. "As one of the blood and a noble of the Casterwill line, I demand the right to the Trial of the Virtues for safe passage into the sanctuary!"

Loki grabbed Will's arm, eyes filled with concern. "Hey!" She hissed, eyes scanning his face anxiously. "We're not gonna let you risk yourself like that! What on earth are the 'Trials of Virtue' anyway?"

It was Argus who answered, his cold face no longer distant now presented with one of his masters, the immortal light of his eyes fading a little to make him look more human. "They are the Tests of any who wish to prove themselves to me, milady." The guard seemed to shrink a little, no longer twice the size of man, and more like one-and-a-half, as if he was trying to be friendly. "The treasure I guard is too precious for me to allow you to pass on word-of-mouth, and while blood may be telling, there are many Casterwills who have gone bad in the past. These Tests will look into your very hearts, and if you are found wanting, I shall not let you pass."

Loki met him stare for stare for a long moment, then shrugged, a smile working its way onto her face, excitement and anticipation for the puzzle, the riddle ahead. "Alright then, what are the Virtues?"

"The pillars of Casterwill society, the four values which must be upheld in the heart of all Casterwills and Seekers of goodness, honesty and light. Bravery, Prowess, Intelligence, and Nobility, all tested in the Ceremony of the Heart, and the Trial of the Virtues." Argus seemed rather smug about this list of qualities, but the team just shrugged, looking at each other with a smile. A sudden thought occurred to the blonde, and she tilted her head at the enchantment-man.

"Since we want to go in with Will, does that mean that we all take the Tests?" Zhalia visibly paled at the thought of having to take the final Test, her hand gripping Dante's tightly even as he leant against her for comfort. Argus thought a moment, then nodded.

"Yes," Zhalia sighed and resigned herself to sitting outside and waiting. "But the ceremony dictates that traditionally, each Test is undertaken by a different Seeker." Meeting each other's eyes, the team shared a smile, knowing instantly which trial was theirs, knowing their own hearts and the hearts of their friends well enough to see which Virtue fell to them to prove.

Grinning almost manically, Loki stepped up. "I'm guessing Bravery is first?" She tilted her head to one side, the perfect image of a defenceless little girl, and Argus seemed to smirk again before nodding.

"Please, enter, milady." Turning back to wave at the others, they saw the equally devious smirk on her face, and smiled back, sure of their courageous friend. As she passed through the arch, a shield of light sprang up to block the way. Zhalia pressed her hand against it, giving the spectre a look with narrowed eyes.

"And what's this?"

"None may interfere with the Test, milady." Was his only reply before turning away towards the blonde standing firm in the centre of the courtyard.

"Ready when you are, Argus!" Loki gave the guard a thumb up, and he floated down towards her, a rod of finest gold appearing in his hands, studded here and there with obsidian and onyx, a star ruby on either end. As the spell held the sceptre out towards her, the blonde couldn't help but notice that it was perfectly symmetrical, as if two identical staffs had been cut in half and fused together. Frowning as he paused in front of her, not quite giving the staff to her, and not quite holding it back, her azure eyes moved to meet his, filled with questions.

"This is the Spectre of Phobos, the god of Fear, and of Deimos, his twin brother, and god of Terror. To take this staff in hand is to face that which causes your heart to shake most with dread, to fight your darkest fears in their realm. Be warned, this Test is not easy, nor can I promise that you will be unchanged on the other side."

Loki reached out her hands as he offered her the golden rod, hesitated once, then narrowed her eyes, steely with resolve and took the staff. Black light seemed to rise from the stones and gems along its length, but the blonde remained calm, her breathing even and sure. Just before the light engulfed her completely, she gave a little laugh and smiled. "There's nothing to fear but fear itself, right?" And then she was gone, surrounded by darkness so completely absent of light that it was as if she was not there, unseen, leaving the team with no way of telling what was going on.

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><p>There was nothing but darkness. Black walls of obsidian stone, almost as if she was within the staff, sucked inside one of the rocky fragments that decorated it. There was nothing there. Nothing to fear. Just… her? Loki sighed, crossing her arms and settling down to wait for a change. After a moment, a soft kinda <em>'scuttle'<em> reached her ears, sending a shiver of repulsion down her spine. She knew that sound. She _knew_ that sound! There was a _spider_ here somewhere, crawling around, and it sounded close. Focusing on pushing down the slight fear at the thought, she turned around, expecting to see one crouched, shivering in the corner like spiders are known to do. What she didn't expect was the as-big-as-a-house spider eying her hungrily. The blonde pouted, sighing and calling a Boltflare forth to cover her hands with fire and light. It had to be spiders, didn't it?

Luckily, with her Seeker powers, the spider was reduced to nothing more than a pile of smoking, smouldering remains of charred flesh and frankly awful smelling mess in little more than a minute. Dusting her hands off, Loki grinned, tilting her head to one side to look at the ex-spider with glee. "You know, I like you much better like this." She told it happily, hands on hips. Really, this trial wasn't that bad. She just hoped it would be over soon. There was only so long she could withstand the smell of burning spider meat.

Another noise came from behind her. This one was different. It was so soft it almost wasn't there, a mixture of noises- the '_pat' _of barefoot on stone, the whispering _'hah'_ of silken cloth over the floor, frictionless and smooth, a feathery sort of rustle, a quiet '_plish'_ of something falling to splash on the floor, but loudest of all the silent noises was the hum of power that permeated the air, filling it with static and energy. Turning back towards the sound, Loki felt her heart drop away, cold and frozen, nights of _fear _and _terror_ returning to the forefront of her mind, nights of _blood_ and _sharp teeth_ and _eyes_ that _glowed_ and _skin_ that _burned_ with _light_ and _fire_ and _mist_.

Yes, now that the spider was dead, there was only her in here.

The girl before her may have her face, the same curling hair, the same height and figure and stature, but there was something intrinsically wrong with her. Her hair was silvery white-blonde, her skin moonlight pale, with mist scattering and shimmering beneath her skin, the lips startling against the lack of colour, lips she knew hid pointed teeth covered with innocent blood, the eyes filled with light, like the azure of Loki's own eyes had bled out to fill them, like the eyes of a titan, inhuman, cold, indifferent to human life and suffering. The symbols about her neck glowed fiercely, brightly, like tiny silver stars and blue moons all shining and dancing across her skin. A sword of fire and mist, dripping with blood, was held lightly in her hands like a feather. These were things that Loki knew. This was the Loki of the mist-magic, of terrible power and terrible deeds. This was the nightmare of the Catacombs, of choices she had not made, things she had said no to, the blood of people she had spared dripping down onto the ground from those same delicate hands with the patch of rough skin at the base of the right thumb from her way of holding a pen.

The other features were new, though. Usually the Not-Her wore whatever Loki was wearing, but now she had found her own clothes. A medieval dress of Celtic origin was her choice, pure white cloth that hung delicately about her, the sleeves ending at the elbow and trailing down to her knees, with inner sleeves that ran up the middle finger of each hand, embroidered with silvery thread that held a hint of blue. A silver band ran under the chest, and a silver belt of cloth decorated with blue and silver stones hung low on her slender hips, the middle length falling with the skirt of the dress to about knee length, where the dress carried on alone to fall and gather at her feet, which was revealed to have slits in the side for manoeuvrability as she walked forwards. Silver upper arm bands with Celtic designs adorned below each shoulder, a necklace forsaken in favour of the glowing symbols already ringing her neck.

But all this finery paled in comparison to the greatest difference between the two Lokis. The 'newer edition' had silvery wings, pluming and angelic, that sprouted from her back and stretched towards the sky that they allowed her to claim. At first glance, they seemed to be made of feathers, as all wings are, but upon closer inspection, each feather was made of light silver-and-blue mist, giving the whole set a spiritual and ethereal look. For a moment before the fear crept into her heart, Loki was almost envious. Then, she was simply afraid of this creature from the darkest corners of her blackest nights and most vicious nightmares.

"Who are you?" The blonde's voice was no more than a whisper, trembling and child-like.

"I am what you can become."

"You mean what I could become, if I had made the wrong choices."

"No," The creature shook her head in the same petulant way that Loki did when someone was being silly, often Cherit. To see the action on someone else chilled Loki's very blood and bones, a coldness washing through her and seeping into her flesh. The Not-Her's next words froze that chill. "I am what you _can _become. You will always be almost-me, or me, until the day you find the truth. You are the one who silences voices, the one who silences all things."

"I will never become you!" Loki's voice held more desperation than conviction, a pain in her chest piercing her heart as she tried not to listen to the truth within her words, the truth of the power in her blood. "I know right from wrong, I know good from evil. I know I would never do those things!"

With a sound like icicles falling, laughter of a distant star, the Not-Her shook her head once more. "It is laughable to give names to things like 'good' and 'evil'." She admonished her other self gently, as if teaching a child a lesson. "All we do is return the hatred we have consumed in our hearts, the hatred we have swallowed and given back."

"I don't hate anyone!" Loki cried, trying to find her certainty again amidst the confusion of the words that came from her own voice. "I'm just looking for Dad. I just want to find him!"

"And yet what we search for falls apart so easily." The voice was a comforting murmur. "We saw the battle upstairs. Can you really believe he can come unscathed from such a fight? Eathon is lost, buried in a castle of sand in the kingdom of the oceans."

"I won't believe that!" There were tears now, and that warmth should have helped against the detached, cold way this angelic demon cast aside her love and life, but they too were cold. "I won't believe that he would leave me, because he loves me and I love him!"

"We trample on expressions of love, you and I." Cool eyes watched her, as if measuring her reaction, but also seeming to look across time and space, seeing a different way that things would go, the way of Not-Her, the world that had made her. "You may think yourself the God of Love, searching for Eathon, but when love is broken underfoot, even God will break. This war always meant our tears would run dry, because we have lost so much. People we've forsaken, calling their dreams wrong, absurd, compared to our own. We kill them, and on their blood make a vow to dye everything red, with these hands, because Eathon is gone. Bitterness is a paralytic. Love is a motivator."

"But it is for the people I love that I do this!" Loki argued, trying to find her feet again. "For Dad, for the days we shared, for the days I want to share with him again, treasured days and I believe that I will have them. That's why I search for him. Because I know he wants it too."

"The dead want for nothing." The other-her told her gently. "And when you realise this, you will break. And where will God go when she breaks but here, to me, and become me. Love is ingrained in you, it is part of who you are, but sin is also a part of you, the ability to do wrong. I am born of your hatred and sadness, both of which lie in your eyes, the windows of your soul."

Loki glared at the other her, trying not to hear the similarities between them, trying not to feel the abyss about her, the knife edge on which she stood. What if…? It echoed around her brain. What if Eathon was dead? What if the Organization had killed him? Anger began to build in her heart, hatred and a burning pain, crying out, only just held back, held in check by the ever-present 'but'.

Seeing her waver, the Not-Her smiled, and held out her hands towards her. "What we were looking for is full of corruption. It is nothing but a lie, made of mist to disappear on the morning breeze." She reached out her hands, imploring her to take them, and filled with doubt and hate and fear, Loki began to reach for them too, as if they were a sacred talisman that could give her the power to fight away the pain and sorrow. It was then she saw them, the blue gem of Caliban's amulet and the pale silver gem of Kilthane on her belt, and a fractured, rusty ring on her finger. The ring she had seen only once or twice before, but she knew the crest. It was Will's signet ring, the last link he had to the past of his family. The Not-Her noticed her still, and gave a warm, kind smile. "They were lies too."

Loki began to draw back, shaking her head, unable to believe that she, even a not-really-she would kill her teammates, her friends, her family. The Not-Her sighed, and shook her head too, as if disappointed. "Oh, if only you had listened to me, and let the corrupting darkness in." Her voice was filled with pain. "If you had danced with that corruption, then the sun would set beautifully into the darkness we would have made. Now, I'll just have to kill you too."

There was sadness in the Not-Her's voice, and Loki paused, frowning, looking deeply at her. While the Not-Her was covered with blood, there was such sorrow in her eyes, hidden behind corruption that coated her eyes with a black sheen, like a mask. Reflected in those eyes, she did not see Loki, or the winged girl before her, but someone else, someone that Loki could be, and that Not-Her could have been. Loki was on the path towards her now, but Not-Her had walked past, driven on by the hatred of loss, unable to get back to the light she had lost, losing her love and dreams and having to forget them somewhere along the way. No longer was Loki afraid of what she could be. Instead, she was sorry for her, sorry for the one that had made the wrong choice, and proud of the person that she was instead.

Quietly, she called across to the advancing demon. "In your heart, who is miserable? Who is the one that is sad?" Loki smiled at her, tears in her eyes that flowed and faded away into the darkness of the floor, and held her arms out to encompass her whole self. "It's not me. I'm happy with the choices I have made, with the love and hope in my heart and the dreams in my head." Realisation struck Loki like a lightning bolt, and she looked across at the other-her with surprise, even shock. "You carry on like this because you can't let go of the grieving pain in your heart. You won't throw it away because you still love those that you lost. You're still me, you still care. It's just your tears have dried up, and your voice can't scream anymore, so you don't know what else to do but keep going. All because your pain won't end."

The demon's eyes were also filled with tears now, and the sword fell from limp hands, the wings low and pulled tight as if to shield her from Loki's words, just as Loki had done before. As the blonde walked towards her, the Not-Her fell to her knees before the fallen sword.

"Will _you_ end the pain?"

"Yes. I will."

She took the sword of innocent blood and slew the future that she would never chose, the fear that had always lingered in her heart now disappearing as she proved to herself that she was stronger than this power, that she was its master. She would never kill because she could not control herself. This power was hers now, part of her, and now she knew that, this demon would never be born.

In a flash of light, the world of Phobos and Deimos disappeared, and she was back in the courtyard, pale, shaking, but alive.

* * *

><p>Argus gave her a long, hard look, then stepped aside. "To face your darkest self is more than even I thought the Test would do, for it has never done so before, and to find yourself among that darkness takes more bravery then most possess. You may pass." Turning back to give her teammates a weak smile that grew stronger even as she saw them there, alive, with hearts that loved her and still beat, Loki waved, then walked slowly to a bench beyond the next arch, letting herself collapse onto it, legs still shaking slightly, her body still geared for fight or flight, the adrenaline coursing through her veins making her tremble. This was the fear of the body, but gone was the fear of the mind and heart.<p>

His eyes still fixed worriedly on his friend, but unable to check on her until the barrier was gone and the Trial was over, Will addressed Argus once more, who seemed rather distracted and surprised, as if he had seen something or someone he was not expecting. "What is the next Test? Prowess, right?"

The blue-skinned spirit nodded slowly, blinking as if coming around from sleep, focus returning to his shining eyes. "Yes, milord." He held up a hand, silencing and stilling the team. "But I warn you, this Test too is extremely dangerous. Only a master of all forms of combat will survive."

Sharing a look, Will and Zhalia turned to bow to Dante, and he rolled his eyes at their antics before shrugging, accepting the title of 'Master of all forms of combat' and walking forwards, hands in pockets and as calm and collected as if he was taking a walk on the beach. As he stepped through the archway, the light-shield rippled into place once more. Before it closed completely, Zhalia called through to him, her light and teasing voice betraying her concern. "Go easy on them, Dante." Which they all knew meant 'Don't hold back.'

Argus raised his hands. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He asked, wary now, after the way the magic of the Trials had acted with Loki. For some reason, it was being harsher than usual. The guard-spell didn't have any control over it. He was merely a conduct, a path through which the magic could reach the world. He did not know the mind of the Trials. Dante met his silver eyes with a nonchalant gold, lion-like eyes confident in his own ability.

"I'll manage."

With a wave of his hand, Argus let the magic of the Virtues flow into the sealed off courtyard, where the three blobs of magic, one green, one blue, and one grey, shifted and bubbled to form three strange fishmen wearing the same coloured armour. Their skin was grey, their eyes yellow and large and round, with fins sprouting from their forearms and in place of ears. Each held a coral-encrusted weapon, one with a dagger in his hand, the other with a spear, and the last with a trident, but their hands alone looked formidable, clawed and hooked, at the end of strong, muscular arms. Dante grinned. This was going to be fun.

Noticing the way that they moved, the flickering of their eyes, the defensive way that they stood, his smile grew. "You don't appear to be titans." He murmured. "Too bad for you!" With a manic grin, he charged the grey merman, swinging a fist to smash into his chest, before spinning on a heel and kicking the weapon from the man's hand. Hearing the others rush to their fellow's aid, he grabbed Grey's wrist, flinging him over his shoulder to fly towards the pair running towards them. They dodges, leaving Grey to crash into a wall. For a moment, the trio were still, before the fallen warrior raised his hand.

"Riptide!" A wave of sea-blue magic rushed towards Dante, who stepped to one side as it streaked past his face, ruffling his hair. Without a moment's respite, he instantly threw himself down, raising his own hands against the next power sent his way, as Blue charged a purple power in his claws.

"Thundercut!" The spark of violet lightning flew towards him, its crackling arms many and reaching far. Knowing he could not dodge, a similar colour engulfed the auburn.

"Armourbrand! " The shield broke under the force of the attack, and Dante leapt aside as a third spell, this one from Green, was launched his way.

"Augerfrost!"

The burning cold just clipped Dante's sleeve, leaving a smouldering chill that burnt away a hole. Gold eyes narrowed. He _liked_ his trenchcoat, and while he may have many spares, it was a waste of money to have to buy new ones. Usually, enemy Seekers couldn't land a hit strong enough to damage it. Since these guys had been able to, the Huntik Seeker's guards went up. He was going to have to up his game. "Doublespell!" He raised his hands. "Boltflare!"

The twin balls of twisting light zipped across towards the Grey and Green mermen, but the latter just smirked, waving a hand. "Overshield." A wall of wavering light blocked the attack, and Dante gritted his teeth, outwardly keeping his cool, but inwardly cursing. An idea came to his mind as a familiar shape bumped against his hip, and he grinned again.

"So, you're all Seekers, hey?" He flipped the medallion into the air and caught it quickly. "Then try this on for size! Caliban!" An aura of blue-and-white light blinded his opponents, and in that flash, the Aztec appeared, his emotionless face clearly filled with glee at the thought of battle, despite his covered eyes and mouth.

The mer-trio did not flinch, nor did they seem afraid. As one, they simply raised their own weapons towards the covered sky, calling out a name that resounded in the small chamber as if on a light summer breeze. "Caliban Ocean Warrior!"

The three titans that appeared were like bad copies of Dante's own dear friend. Instead of blue and white, they were green and gold, their armour thicker, with spikes curving from the bracers. The long white hair was replaced with short, flowing seaweed, and webbed fins sprang from their neck like a frilled collar, and from their hips like a sash. Each held a longer, golden version of Caliban's hooked sword, more like a harpoon than a blade, and all held bloodlust in their eyes.

The Aztec charged, meeting the Atlantians with fierce determination, refusing to yield to fear nor caution. Trying to help his friend, Dante sent an Augerfrost at the pair trying to attack from behind, but they lithely jumped aside. Narrowing his eyes, the auburn clenched his fists.

"Three Calibans?" He muttered, an idea beginning to form. "Is it just a coincidence?" Needing further proof, he threw himself away from the fight, a purple glow swelling and rising about him. "Come to my aid, Metagolem!" The mountain king landed with a thud before the mermen, and for a moment, they cowered in fear, before raising their hands once more, a tremble in their voices as they called for aid of their own.

"Come to us, Coralgolem!" Three twisting waterspouts erupted from the floor, and from them jumped three not-quite copies of the titan Dante had summoned. Instead of purple, they were red, their heads covered with square helmets instead of kingly helms. Short tattered cloaks of a smudged grey billowed tiredly behind them, no air of regal standing gathered about them like a cloud. These were lesser to the stone lord, mere foot soldiers beneath the king. But, Dante noted with a grim smile, there were three similar titans. His idea began to unfold in his mind, quickly taking root.

However, the smile was soon wiped off his face as Metagolem was charged by his three cousins, and torn limb from limb before his very eyes. Behind the magic barrier, Will's eyes were wide with shock and more than a little fear, but upon seeing Zhalia's tense hands, bunched into worried fists at her sides, he said nothing, and did not voice his concern.

Standing shakily beside Caliban, the drain on his power starting to take effect, Dante snarled at his enemies as they smirked back. Blue stepped forwards, smug and inflated with his sense of victory, as if he already knew that it was over. "The power of the Test allows us to summon three equivalent titans for every one you invoke. You don't stand a chance."

As if to prove his point, the Coralgolems and Caliban Ocean Warriors backed him and his titan into a corner. Caliban, defiant to the end, dashed forwards to cleave a mighty hand from the arm of one golem, but was immediately defeated by three cowardly harpoons to the back, disappearing into light, leaving Dante to stand alone.

As the crowd of adversaries stood before him, the auburn allowed himself a short quirk of the lips, a barely repressed smile as his suspicions were confirmed. "I was hoping to save my strength," He dove his hands into his pockets, speaking lightly, as if they were friends who just happened to meet. "But it looks like I'll have to pull out all the stops." His hands reappeared, raised to the sky, and the team gasped as they recognised the emerald gleam of the Legendary Titan of Body on his finger. Rattling the earth and rumbling the sky, Dante invoked his most powerful titan, and all stepped back upon seeing his strength. The monstrous titan shook the earth, his mouth open in silent challenge, the tusks and strong teeth warning all from accepting.

Not even trying to fight Behemoth with their current titans, the mermen lifted their hands once more, glowing blue as the sea. "Legendary Titan Behemoth!" Their voices rang into a still moment, before it was broken by a thunderous roar, screams and light.

When the dust had settled and sight was clear once more, all that was left of the Atlantians and their titans was a large crater in the floor where they had been, and ash on the air. Argus eyed Dante with wary acceptance, a small spark of fear in his luminous eyes.

"There is no equivalent to a Legendary Titan." He explained, his voice quiet but sure and strong. "Trying to copy one is a bad idea. So, do I pass?"

Argus nodded quickly, almost trying to dart back out of reach. "You pass. To show prowess in battle, you must not only be strong, but wise and able to plan a shifting strategy to crush your enemies. Though I never expected one to pass like that…." He trailed off, eyes drifting towards the shining ring that Dante was putting back in his pocket, then shook his head to clear his thoughts, and waved his hand. The barriers disappeared, and the auburn walked slowly across the edge of the room, avoiding the damage he had caused, to stand beside Loki, who had bounded forwards in excitement to meet him.

"Wow!" She chirped, bouncing on the balls of her feet, eyes shining. "I didn't even think it was possible to summon Caliban, Metagolem, _and_ Behemoth back to back like that!"

Dante was silent, his eyes closed as if concentrating as he moved to stand beside her. "It's not." He crumpled, his power and strength failing now he allowed himself to fall, Loki squeaking and ducking under his arm to hold him steady, leading him quickly to the bench where she had been sitting and setting him down gently. One golden eye, filled with exhaustion, managed to open to regard her coolly and calmly as Loki raised her hands, glowing with the fire of an Everfight. A shaking hand touched her gently on the arm. "Save your strength, I'll be fine." His voice was a hoarse whisper. "I just…need a moment." As she opened her mouth to argue, he frowned. "I mean it. Save your strength. You may…need it." Closing his eyes again, he settled back, still awake but resting, and Loki sat by him to give him strength as he leant against her, his head on hers and her head rested on his shoulder.

Realising the meaning for his words- remembering the ease with which her powers had come at her call, knowing it meant Rassimov was still near- the blonde nodded to herself and readied herself to fight once more, determined to protect her friends, no matter what.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Argus was floating back to the others, no longer certain that anyone would fail. This group of Seekers were…strange, to say the least. They were unlike the ones who made him, and others who had thought to try him. In any case, he did not doubt that they would pass the next Test.<p>

"Next is the Test of Intelligence." He announced, and said no more, his earlier confidence gone.

Without even looking back, Will stepped forwards, with Cherit leaving his shoulder to fly in the air, not wanting to get pushed off by the barrier. Zhalia, incredulous, darted forwards to grab his arm to pull him back. "What are you doing?!" She hissed, a spark of fear in her mocha eyes.

"Relax, Zhalia." The boy raised an eyebrow at her, smugly sure, but of what she did not know. "Brains are my department, remember?"

"It's easy for any of us." She snapped back, holding onto him tightly. "But the next Test is Nobility, and you _know_ I can't pass that."

To her surprise, Will shrugged her off and passed through the arch, leaving her alone. "No," He grinned cheerfully at her murderous expression. "I don't."

She tried to grab him again, to make him understand, but the barrier rose before her, blocking her way, and she was forced to retreat. "Will! What gives?" He turned back, an impish, mischievous smile on his lips, but said no more, and went back to the Trial. Unable to do anything about her predicament, Zhalia sighed, resting her head against the barrier in despair. "I'll…get you for this…"

Stopping in front of Argus, the Casterwill heir waited impatiently for his Test to begin. "Give me your best shot, One Hundred Eyed Watcher." He challenged the spell, and the being nodded solemnly, waving his hand. A golden creature, with the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman stood proudly before him, ruffling her feathers with arrogant pride.

"I will question you, once, trice, thrice. Answer well, or pay the price. " Demanded the Sphinx, for it was none other than she.

"What is the price?" Will asked, more curious than frightened. A vicious smile curved the sharp teeth of the hybrid monster, and she flicked her tail with glee.

"The riddles are three, but Death is one. I am hungry after so long in the dark." She told him frankly. "I will do to you as I have done to all others who fail- devour."

"A keen incentive to win then." Will grinned, excited. It had been a long time since he had been challenged in this way- excepting of course the numerous times that Loki had beaten him with puzzles.

"My first, tho' water, cures no thirst, my next alone has no soul. And when he lives upon my first, he then is called my whole, but in his home will die. What am I, and why do I die?"

Will thought hard, eyes narrowed, working through each . After a moment, he became aware of the Sphinx stalking closer. "Can you stop that please?" He glared at the feline woman as she skulked back, sulking. "It's very off putting."

She grinned at him, showing off her pointed teeth. "Time's almost up."

"You said nothing of a time limit!" Shaking his head to concentrate, Will sighed, and looked up, as if hoping for inspiration. Through a hole in the roof, he caught a glimpse of the ocean beyond, in place of the sky, a blue that reminded him solely of Loki, of her smile beside him. A certainty settled in her heart, and he too smiled now, he faced the lioness again. "The first is sea, which is water that you cannot drink" He told her, no doubt in his voice. "And the second is man, who is not complete without someone beside him." His eyes flickered to Loki so briefly that even he wasn't sure that he had done it. "So the whole is a sea-man, living upon the sea and dying because he has nothing to drink."

With a sigh, and an angry flick of her tail, the Sphinx settled back. "Alright, fine. You win this one, tasty morsel." She tilted her head to one side, eyes narrowed, then smiled slyly. "The one who makes it, sells it. The one who buys it, does not use it. The one who uses it, will never know that he is."

The brunette sighed, racking his brains for inspiration. What did you buy that you never used? What did you use that you never knew you were using? It was a ridiculous prospect. The one thing that he could think of was air, but no one made that, nor sold it, and actually, come to think of it, people did know that they were using air, because everyone knew they had to breathe. He could almost feel the hand of fate ticking down the time till the Sphinx crowed her victory, and killed him, ate him alive… Ah ha! A triumphant surge raced through his mind at his morbid thoughts. The dead! They did not buy things, but they used them, and never knew that they did. So what do you buy the dead? Flowers, but they are not made. Then, that left….!

"A man makes a headstone." He answered slowly, giving himself time. "Another buys it, but does not use it, and a third is dead, and it is for him….But then again, the same could also be said for a coffin, am I right?"

The Sphinx pouted, put out, not having thought that he would get it. "Either one is fine." She snapped petulantly. "They are both answers." Settling back onto her haunches with a sigh, the winged lion was silent for a long moment, trying to outwit her young dinner. As she thought, she turned to eye the boy with some small curiosity. It had been a long time since she had met such a fresh meal, and there was something about his scent, a scrap of fragrance that clung to him, that spoke of long hours in the company of…. _Something. _It was a smell she had not expected to every sense again, and it brought back long memories of days in the sun and blood on her teeth and claws. Memories of men that walked as gods…. With a smile, she straightened again, and ruffled her feathers with an air of glorious joy.

"500 is at my end and my start, yet 5 is at my heart. The first letter and the first number make me complete. My name is that of a king of God. What am I?"

Will frowned, utterly perplexed. How could numbers make a name? How were numbers even letters? All he knew was that it had to contain 'A', the first letter, but how many names where there that had an 'A' in them? He could think of hundreds off the top of his head! He was going to run out of time… He couldn't let the others down, nor could he let himself down!

Wait...

Why did time strike a chord?

Wait…

When are numbers _not_ numbers? The face of a clock floated before his eyes, the symbols, the _numerals_, lit up as if burned into his mind. This was it. This was the right path, his soul told him so. The Sphinx was from the time of Greek and Rome. The Roman numerals had to be the key…if he could remember what they all were. He'd learnt them once, after seeing them as part of a code on his father's desk, but it was so long ago….

500, at the beginning and the end. That was… 'D'! So, the name began with 'D', ended with 'D', had an 'A', and belonged to a king of God. Already, he began to suspect the answer, but to be sure, he carried on working through the riddle.

5 was V, so the name was D-V-D, with an 'A' in there somewhere. It was obvious now, he didn't even need the last clue.

"You are David, king of Israel, the Holy Land." Will grinned, a weight lifting from his heart. "You have your answer, Sphinx, and I have my three riddles. We are done."

With a yowl of anger and frustration, the lion-woman shrieked and made to attack, but the powers of the Test held her back, for William was right, and he had passed. Argus, relieved that the Casterwill had passed, waved his hand and sent her back to the darkness of Not-Here, then lowered the barriers, allowing the boy to pass.

* * *

><p>Loki, from her place by Dante, smiled at him and gave him a silent thumb up, which he returned, before sitting quietly on the floor beside her, the bench filled by the not-quite-sleeping Dante"What did you see?" He asked her, his voice no more than the gentlest of whispers, barely there and barely heard. She looked at him in confusion, and he tilted his head towards the courtyard of the Trial. "When you touched the staff of Phobos and Deimos. What did you fear?"<p>

"Spiders." The pair laughed, but the thoughtful look in the blonde's azure eyes made him nervous. Seeing his worry, she sighed, slipping her hand into his, as if to reassure herself that it was there. "I saw me, how I could have been if I'd lost control. I'd killed so many people that I didn't know how to stop… and you were on the pile of bodies."

"Well, I'm here now." Gently, he took her hand and put it on his chest, above his heart, letting her feel the beat beneath her fingers. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Silently, they turned to watch as Argus held his hand out towards Zhalia. "Come, milady. The Test of Nobility awaits." Desperate to avoid it, she shoved Cherit towards the barrier, the bemused little titan grinning and waving at the guard, but the spell shook his head, smiling gently. "So sorry. Seekers only."

Loki tilted her head to one side, confused and more than a little amused. "Why is Zhalia so nervous?" She asked Will quietly, as Dante stirred beside her, opening bleary eyes that seemed a bit better than before. He wasn't going to sleep through Zhalia's Test, he was going to support her no matter what.

Will grinned, but the mischief was gone, leaving only friendship and care in its wake. "She won't let us down." He told her, voice ringing with confidence. "I know it, but _she_ doesn't."

* * *

><p>They watched as the blue-haired woman walked hesitantly and reluctantly towards Argus, who floated before her like a judging god. She shuffled her feet, refusing to meet his eyes, fidgeting, anything to keep the attention away from the fear in her eyes. "Just get it over with…"<p>

"You look uneasy, milady." Argus seemed to grow smaller, to match her size, comforting and kind. "Is something the matter?"

Her voice bitter and full of regret, Zhalia bowed her head. "Maybe it's because I'm not noble. I was born poor. I lied, bullied, cheated and stole my way up in the world. I…I even betrayed the only people who were ever good to me." Her eyes met the teams', one by one, and in them she saw pride and love and hope, things she thought she had never deserved, things she still felt she didn't deserve, that she should have lost because of what she had done to them.

Argus nodded, his smile growing, full of warmth and joy. "You don't need royal blood, or a spotless past. In order to pass, you have to show _inner_ nobility, which means honesty, even when it hurts, and regret for the darkness we allow into our souls." He clicked his fingers, lowering the barrier to the inner sanctum. "Which means, of course, that you pass." Zhalia gazed up at him with disbelieving eyes, shocked and stunned, as the team stood and walked over, grinning. Loki, unable to control herself, charged over and hugged the coffee-eyed Seeker, laughing.

"We knew you could do it!"

A muffled 'heeeeeeey' was heard from beyond the barrier, and Argus looked a little sheepish. "Oh, I almost forgot. Once you've passed the four Tests, and the Trial, you can let your friends in and out as you wish!" He clicked his fingers once more, and the last barrier dissolved, allowing Cherit to fly and perch on Loki's shoulder, cheering shrilly in his hoarse little voice.

Grinning at her friends, seeing all of them alive, happy, here and beside her, Loki felt like cheering herself. "Let's go then!" She laughed delightedly. "The Ancient Amulet of Will awaits!"

* * *

><p>AN: Yay! Done! The next one is the big one, folks. The ultimate showdown between Loki and Rassimov, and the finding of the Ancient Amulet of Will!<p> 


	71. Chapter 70 Coming of Age Part 3

AN: The showdown begins! Enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 70- Coming of Age Part 3

Barely able to hold back her excitement, Loki dashed over to the tall, double doors of stone at the opposite end of the courtyard, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited for the unbearably slow team, with Argus floating sedately behind them. Resisting the urge to run over and haul them over by the front of their shirts, the blonde glared across at them, tapping a foot in irritation with one eyebrow raised, the very image of impatience. Will rolled his eyes at her antics, and jogged over to stand by her, grinning at her annoyance. Seeing his smile, she sighed, relaxing and giving a small smile back, trying to calm herself down.

As the others neared, Zhalia helping the still unsteady Dante, Argus paused, a flickering of confusion passing over his wavering face. Drifting past the mortals gathered at his feet, he briefly rested one long-clawed hand on the stone, silvery eyes narrowed in thought. "It's been so long," His voice was barely above a whisper, as if he had forgotten that there was someone there to hear his words. "That I've almost forgotten how to open this cumbersome thing…" He trailed off, thinking, and Loki felt her world slip out from under her feet, tilting sideways as a sickening chill shuddered through her veins like piercing shards of ice. Will, going pale as he too realised what Argus had said, wrapped an arm around her and drew her close, holding her up as her knees buckled and tears gathered in her eyes, eyes filled with fear and sorrow. Dante and Zhalia looked on with sad resignation, knowing the blonde would need them now more than ever, now that their fears had been recognised.

Eathon had not made it here.

"Argus!" Loki's reaching hand went right through the spell-man. "Did someone fail the Trail? Six or seven years ago? Did my father make it here?" She bowed her head, trying in vain to hide the tears that were now flowing down her cheeks, turning her face into Will's chest as he held her, as if trying to hold her together as she fell apart, her heart shattering, both of them already knowing the answer. "Please… tell me he made it, tell me Dad made it here, please…"

"I'm sorry, milady." Argus's eyes were filled with regret, pained that he had to be the bearer of such terrible news. "It has been ten thousand years since anyone last invoked the Trial of the Virtues, and much longer since I was last asked to open this door."

"No," Loki's haunted whisper made the team flinch. It was tortured, filled with endless, fathomless pain, the pain of such loss, such grief, that it was unspeakable, that with it life would be an unending, agonising torment. It was a pain so great, a suffering so unbearable, that death would be welcome in the end, because it would end the aching, longing sorrow, and return the lost. "H-he never made it this far…But that… that means in the battle above, he… that means that he's-" A sob forced itself past her choked throat, that one slip breaking her mask, her iron control shattering, her shoulders shaking with the force of her tears. A tear of his own trailing down his cheek, the same tear that each member of the team could feel on their face, blurring their vision, the Casterwill buried his face in her hair and tried to hold himself together, for her sake. For a moment, there was a solemn silence, broken only by Loki as she desperately tried and failed to compose herself again.

And it was in that moment of agony and fragility that Rassimov struck.

* * *

><p>An explosion, blinding red and white and gold, rocked the earth and sea and sky, shaking the world and turning it upside down. The team were sent flying in every direction, even tearing Loki from Will's arms, smashing them upon the ground and walls like waves dashed against the unyielding shore. The blow left the already weak Dante shaking, unable to stand, barely able to raise his head, and Will and Zhalia were dusty and shaken. Loki was nowhere to be seen, hidden by the clouds of ash and dust.<p>

"I have come to claim my prize." Rassimov's growl snaked its way through the air like a venomous snake, ready to bite, a triumphant hiss winding through his voice. "And none of you are going to stand in my way." He scanned the courtyard for the blonde that had so defied him before, and instead was met with burning emerald eyes, filled with hatred and rage. The black Seeker gave a victorious smirk, seeing the Casterwill brat on his knees. "No exceptions."

Cherit, eyes wide with fear, flew to tug at Will's shoulder, trying to get him to stand. "It looks like it's up to you two now!" He croaked, looking worriedly between him and Zhalia, who was rising to her feet nearby. The pair shared a glance, determined and steely, and nodded.

Beyond the smoke, the suits lay waiting, their eyes gleaming with malice behind their sunglasses, amulets glinting in their hands with that same, dark light, filled with evil and greed. Together, they raised their pendants and called out to the blood-thirsty titans within, summoning the ancient judge, Ammit-Hearteater, the tainted white light of an Enforcer not far behind its snapping jaws. Whirring like an engine, the bug-like titan made to attack, and Will and Zhalia clenched their fists, ready to defend their friends.

Before either side could react, however, a voice rang out on the still ocean air, a voice filled with pain, but also now with anger, with revenge and hatred and disgust. In a flash of vibrant, violent light, emerald as the Aegean Sea where he had been found, Lindorm tore through the Enforcer, rendering it into nothing but dancing sparks of light. The suits, Rassimov included, stared in shock at the speed of the bear-dragon's summoning, and all but the black leader wondering where it had come from.

"You _dare_ to come here," Light began to appear through the smoke, the dust, outlining a shimmering figure, blinding and pure. "After all that you and your kind have done, you _dare_ to face my wrath?" The team stared as the being walked past, each step cracking the earth, the power that radiated from her turning the stone beneath her feet to dust and fragments. "You, who have hurt my friends. You, who have stolen from me and tried to use me for your own devices. You, who have destroyed so many lives. You, who have tormented the weak and trodden on the poor. You, who value nothing but power and greed. I stand here alone now, because of you, because of what you have done! Because of you, my father is gone, because of your evil, I'm never gonna see him again!" Her voice echoing with the voices of many others, with the past and the present and the future, in all languages and none, Loki stood before the suits and their master, the anger that she had felt before the Not-Her returning, the need, the _desire_ for revenge filling her until there was nothing left, and she welcomed it, welcomed the relief from that _pain._ "Too long, have you hurt the people I love. Too long, have you gone unchecked, unpunished. This ends now, Rassimov, this ends today! Today marks the end of you, and of all the Organization!" The white-faced immortal stumbled back from the fire and the light, eyes wide as he saw the true might and power of the last of the Lamberts. Her eyes were blue flames, her skin as pale as snow and moonlight, her hair a silvery gold that was whipped to and fro in a wind that wasn't there. A blade of light gleamed in her hand, and wings of angelic fire spread wide to protect those behind her, burning with rage and mist. The symbols about her neck were like torches to chase away the dark, but there were difference to them, to her that marked this Loki different to the one that she had encountered in the world of Fear and Terror. There was an air of command, an impervious shield of will and determination that rejected darkness and made the light shine brighter. Instead of a need to kill, there was a need to make them understand the pain and hatred that burned in her heart.

This was not an executioner. This was a judge, a queen, a goddess. It was not Death, but Justice.

"Come on, Rassimov!" Her voice was dangerously calm now, emotion still thrumming under the surface, but held in check, controlled, giving her strength rather than leading her and giving her motivation. No longer was she a conduct. Now, Loki had finally mastered the mist power that dwelled within her. Why she had it, and what her purpose was because of it was still a mystery, but for now she did not care. She had a more pressing matter to attend to. "Face me!"

Behind her, stunned and still, the team moved closer to each other, not sure if they were scared of Loki, or scared for her. Will, remembering what she had spoken of about her Test, knew now that this was terrifyingly close to the demon that she had met, that she had had to face herself. Fearing that Loki was teetering on the knife-edge of losing her humanity, of losing her sense of self, able to see with his Casterwill sixth sense the incredible amount of magical energy surrounding her, he opened his mouth to call out, the paused, looking at her titan-like eyes. Even now, in the midst of battle, they held her spark, her joy in life, her impish and devious nature, her compassion and kindness. Knowing she was safe, he stood by Zhalia, preparing to help.

Beside him, leaning heavily on the wall, Dante gave a weak, grim smile. "Will, Zhalia, take out the suits." His eyes moved to watch the shining being standing before them again. "But let Loki handle Rassimov. This is something she needs to do." The pair nodded, neither really wanting to get in the way of that kind of power.

* * *

><p>Beyond the arch, Rassimov sauntered forwards, hiding his fear behind a mask of dark superiority. "You have my attention, girl." Loki just smirked back.<p>

"Argus," She called lightly in a shimmering voice. "He's not my friend. Don't let him in, 'kay?" A little bemused, the guard nodded, and clicked his fingers. The glittering barrier rose between the two champions, distorting their outlines and marring their faces. Frowning, the immortal raised his gloved hands to press against the light, confused, snarling something to his underlings. Unable to make it out beyond the barrier, the silver-haired girl merely smiled. With a wave of her hand, mist sprang to cover the light, hiding everything behind it from view, her copy of the smoke-bomb power Darkfog, which she had mischievously used on many an occasion to prank Will. She was glad it had come in useful now. Pursing her lips as if in thought, Loki tilted her head to one side and gave Argus a sweet smile. "You know what, I think I'm going to change my mind." Her voice and eyes hardened. "In five seconds, Rassimov is going to be my friend." Silently counting down with one hand, at the last second, when the dark Seeker had removed the mist with his own magic, a wave of a hand sent Lindorm screaming forwards, his head breaking the barrier just as it fell, his tail sweeping around to send him flying.

Leaping forwards, surrounded in a nimbus of blue fire, Loki hurtled towards her enemy at a startling rate, Lindorm at her side, keeping pace with the beating of her wings as she literally flew across the square before the compound.

Panicking as she advanced, Rassimov pulled a pair of amulets out of his pocket, holding them before him like a cross before a demon. "Thornment! Kopesh!" The Egyptian queen appeared in a blaze of golden light, as fierce and harsh as the sun above her beloved desert lands. The jackal-man landed beside her, stretching his claws luxuriously, eager to tear and rend and devour flesh. A flash of blue was the blonde's reply, her oldest and most trusted titan appearing by her side in an instant, Freelancer running to meet Kopesh's charge, whilst Lindorm found himself pinned by the vines of Rassimov's other titan. Giving a vicious smile, Loki darted around the fighting warriors to charge at her own enemy, the blade in her hand singing with light and power.

Seeing how equally matched their titans were, and fearing that she would be more than a match for him, the eternal man reached his hands towards the sky once more. "Come to me! Scarabese! Come now, and join forces!" Skidding to a halt, the winged girl watched in horror as a quartet of black beetles scuttled from under his clothes to stand together upon the floor, a fifth, golden scarab flying to complete them. In a second, she understood.

"He's trying to form Anubian!" Eyes narrowing, she waved her hand. "Cherit!" Knowing what she wanted from him, the little white titan flew forwards to scoop the final piece of the scarab titan's puzzle and carry it away, laughing and delighted he could help.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" He jeered, holding the creature aloft by its legs, and determined not to let go.

Using Loki's distraction to his advantage, though disappointed that his trick card, his Ace up his sleeve (quite literally) had been taken out of the fight by so pathetic a titan, Rassimov shot a power of lilac and red to annihilate Freelancer. "Hopeshatter!" Feeling her titan return, the Lambert turned back to glared ferociously at her opponent, the two standing and facing each other, like two colossal gods deciding the fate of the world. "Loki Lambert," The voice that came from his down-turned mouth was heavy with hatred and malicious intent. "You made a mistake challenging me. Your luck has finally run out."

She smiled at him, a glint of blue-green like the sea above their heads nestled in the palm of her hand. "Luck never had anything to do with it, Corpse-breath." Raising her father's amulet up, letting the light of her own power make it shimmer and shine, she summoned the valiant newcomer to her side, to the battle, to destroy her enemies and protect her friends. "Defeat him, Baselaird!" The titan of the golden armour came in a brilliant blue light, standing tall and strong beside the daughter of his previous Seeker, his Seeker now.

Releasing Lindorm for the more immediate threat, Thornment shot her tendrils at the golden titan, winding around his sword arm, and rendering him immobile as he fought to take or lose ground from the enemy. Smirking, Rassimov gathered the red-lilac light about him again. "Hopeshatter!" A similar smirk spread across the faces of both Loki and her newest titan, and as one they jumped back, Baselaird pulling Thornment with him right into the path of her masters bolt. Under the cruel force of the light, she dissolved away into nothingness. As she returned to her amulet, Rassimov winced, turning his face away from his horrendous mistake.

* * *

><p>Behind them both, on Dante's signal, the rest of the team moved into play. Zhalia, calling across the square to Will, raised her strongest amulet, glowing as purple as dusk as she summoned the stone-eyed draconic warrior that was King Basilisk. "I'll make an opening, and we'll hit them together!" Surrounded by suits, the Casterwill boy turned away on Zhalia's warning, shielding his eyes as all those around him were turned to stone.<p>

Racing as one across the battlefield, Loki sent a quick thought to the swordsman as she and Rassimov parried back and forth with blades of light and darkness. "_Take out Kopesh, quickly! Aim for his crook- it's the source of his power!_" Doing as he was bid, the warrior charged, and his enemy simply lowered his head, expecting him to run himself through on the sharp point. Instead, he had just presented his principle weakness on a silver platter. One stroke was all it took to send the jackal back to his pendant, defeated.

Struggling for control, their swords pushing back and forth between them, Loki leaned forwards, looking right into Rassimov's eyes. "Go ahead," Her eyes challenged him to meet her fiery gaze, but the light burnt him so cruelly that the black-heart could not stand to meet her eyes. "Invoke something else. The more you throw at me, the more Baselaird and I shall throw at you. It's our power- the power to overcome. You cannot win." Dancing back again, knowing her shorter stature meant that body-to-body blade fighting would mean her defeat, the blonde was not surprised when another amulet appeared in her opponent's hand, the war-god Sekmet appearing in a burst of red. Leaving Baselaird to deal with the cat, Loki levelled her hands at her own foe, sending a beam of burning blue-and-grey, which he dodged, barely, the hem of his robe smoking and burnt away. With a snarl, he sent a power in return, but it was met with the same response.

Unfortunately, it struck the Gold Scarabese from Cherit's hands, and it quickly flew to join with its brothers. Crying out, Loki tried to hit it, but it was too quick even for her. Taking advantage of her wandering attention, Rassimov charged, a Thundercut coating his fist in purple lightning. He grinned, thinking victory in his grasp, when something happened that surprised even him.

The blonde simply turned and grabbed his fist, easily holding it back, the lightning not affecting her at all, disappearing against her mist-covered skin. A moment of silence fell, an aura of shock and surprise, and a little awe, falling across the piazza. The girl with fiery eyes and wings crushed Rassimov's hand within her own, and he fell to his knees with a bellow of pain. Softly, almost like the caress of a lover, she rested the edge of her blade against his throat.

Will, his emerald eyes wide, felt his heart burst into flame, a burning war of hatred and fear consuming his mind. This was what he had wanted for so long, the death of his family's ancient foe, justice for their murder, for Marie and Bancroft, for Sophia and Alaric, for the life that should have been his. And yet, he hesitated now, seeing his dearest friend, his first friend, holding the sword, taking the stance of executioner. He could not allow this blood to taint her soul, could not allow her to fall from the balance of Power and Person that she had found. His heart greatly desired this, that was true, but it was also true that his heart loved Loki just as she was, and that he never wanted her to face the pain and guilt that death would bring. And so, he called out in the silence. "Loki!" Those inhuman eyes turned to coolly regard him, detached and already losing herself to the power that was coursing through her veins. "Don't kill him! He'll face justice, but this isn't it!" Silently, he willed herself to find herself through the blue-grey mist and come back to him. Slowly, she blinked, and he saw again in the depths of those alien eyes the spark that held Loki within them. She was back.

Sadly, the touching moment was ruined by a wave of darkness streaming from Rassimov's other hand, using of her distraction for his own gain. Blasting her away from him, he wiped the thin trail of blood that ran from the small cut on his neck, looking at the red liquid with fury and a little fear. It had been years since he had seen this, his own blood, the blood of an immortal. Quietly, he waved his hand, shaking the crimson droplets away. "Anubian, take the price of her insolence from her flesh." The quintet of beetles glowed gold and black, like night in the desert, sky and sand, and he was there, the giant man made of scarabs, with a body of sand and a mask of gold and death. The team felt a sinking feeling in each of their hearts. They had barely escaped from this creature last time, and last time, it was just _all_ of them against Rassimov _alone_. Now, they were weak from the Tests and facing numerous opponents. Their chances did not look good, and Rassimov knew it.

"This battle is over," He snarled as he stalked towards the fallen angel struggling to rise. "The Ancient Amulet of Will belongs to the Organization." A blackberry-purple power began to swirl around his hands, and Loki recognised it as the oppressive force that had kept her and Dante both at bay in Paris, in the Chamber of Cavalier. Knowing that she had to strike now, before he could fully cast the spell, with a sweep of her wings she flung herself at him. In the wavering of lines between his power and hers, Rassimov saw a vision so powerful it shook his very soul, the very fibre of his being shaking. A goddess, her hair as silver as the pale, winter sun, her skin shimmering, her wings burning, her sword shining, standing alone as the world shifted and change, unmoved, the one true constant. Then, the vision was gone and the two collided with a burst of light and shadow.

* * *

><p>Near the archway, the newly-recovered Lindorm was struggling with Anubian, and soon found himself caught by the arms and torn in two, disappearing into a river of forest-light, streaming away. Sensing the change as the bear-dragon returned, Loki cast out her mind. "<em>Baselaird!<em>"The golden man instantly knew her plan, and charged the scarab titan, knocking them both to the ground, fighting for dominance, though little did Anubian know, it was already too late, for the death mask of the titan was lying just within the boundary of the courtyard, and that was Argus's domain. Pushing Rassimov away with her wings, swiping him aside, she span on one heel and pointed her sword like divine judgement at the titan of her enemy. "That _thing_ is not my friend!" In response to her silent request, the barrier was closed, and like a guillotine, severed head from body, defeating Anubian finally.

Rising to his feet, purple electricity gathered and lancing along his fingers, Rassimov leapt forwards, the only thought on his mind being that of revenge, of the Professor's dark eyes as he commanded him to succeed, of the thought of what would happen if he did not obey. Grabbing the girl from behind, the volts of lightning coursed through his hands into her body, and she screamed, the colours of royalty warning underneath her skin. After what seemed like eons, he let her go, and she fell to her knees, head bowed, breathing unsteady. He smirked, snapping his fingers for a suit to come to his side, one that had stayed back and tried to protect himself, with Deadcalm cuffs in his hand. From the corner of her eye, Loki saw it all.

The suit, her team, Rassimov, her titan charging towards them, Will's eyes, Will's mouth opening to cry out, Will, _Will. NO!_

The power built uncontrollably beneath her skin, a surging tide, a hurricane, a volcano waiting to erupt. It was unbearable, burning her up from within, so strong that it _had_ to be released, feeding off her fears, her anger, her love, her hate, everything that made her _her_ pouring into this river of fire and light and mist and water till it was an inferno, a raging fire-storm, all of her power gathered into one blinding blast.

And with a scream that was silent and felt not heard, in one word of a language that did not exist on the tongues of Man, she let it go.

A beam of blue-silver light blasted forth, throwing back all enemies in its path, but passing through her teammates like they were not there. As it did so, they felt their eyes widened with surprise, their weariness disappearing as if the past day had not even happened. The ground shook with the force of the weight it was carrying, a power as immense, as endless and eternally strong as Time itself, casting out the darkness. It flung Rassimov away to smash into a wall, holding him there until the power faded away, as bit by bit Loki felt it drain from her heart and her mind and her soul to leave her as just plain her again, human and whole.

* * *

><p>The suits, scrabbling to get away, picked their leader up and fled, disappearing into the dark streets of the sunken city, and the team watched them go, knowing that they would not return. Zhalia, fingering the amulet in her hand, purple and spiked, turned her face away from the sight. "They won't be attacking in full strength again." She murmured, the fear-filled faces of the statues now littering the square a bitter reminder of the man who had raised her, bringing back memories of a justice she now regretted. Though the world would have been better off without Rassimov, she was glad Will had chosen to spare him, and helped Loki regain her humanity.<p>

Facing the blonde teen again, still kneeling all alone in the middle of piazza, she seemed so unimaginably lonely, as distant and as lovely as a star, no longer powerful, now fragile and broken, left to deal with the consequences of what she was, and what had caused her to become that in the first place. Her grief was carved into every line of her body, her sorrow settled heavily on her shoulders, and while the fire of her soul may have dried her tears, they knew that she was weeping. Will, his heart breaking in the shared sadness of one who loves the bereaved, went to comfort her, to try and do something, and she looked up, her eyes meeting his and filled with that same fear that had been in them when she had completed her Trial. Standing as if she had aged a thousand years in that one moment, she turned away from them to gaze down the street where the suits had fled.

"I just… need a moment alone." Her voice held no tremor, no sign of her turmoil and grief, her back strong again, all emotion pushed deep away where it couldn't do anything more than numb her heart. "You guys go on ahead. I'll… catch up in a minute, okay?"

With a sigh, Dante turned and led the others away, pulling Will with them when he tried to resist, and each of them felt their hearts flinch as, just before they disappeared, the sound of a shattering heart sobbing broke the silence that had fallen.

* * *

><p>A solemn mood surrounded them, rather than the joy that they should have been feeling at this victory, as they entered the lowest chamber, guided by Argus, who was silent, knowing now was not the time to speak. With sad eyes, they saw the paintings of Casterwill and his Legendary Titans, recognising amongst them Behemoth, who they had already found, but they did not comment, nor say a word. It was Dante who finally broke the silence, standing beside the pedestal in the centre of the room, tracing a gold-lined triangle cut out of the surface. "This looks like the place for… Eathon's key." Saying the name was just a painful reminder of the sorrow in their hearts. "We should probably get Loki now."<p>

Will sighed, head bowed. "I'll go." Not knowing what else to say, the group just nodded and let him turn and run away, back up the numerous flights of stairs to the surface.

* * *

><p>When he reached the relative sunlight of the 'open' air again, he found Loki standing by the wall she had thrown Rassimov into with her final attack, tracing the damage with a shaking hand as she looked about her at the shards of rock and burn marks that had come from their fight, a look in her eyes like her world had changed forever, and she wasn't yet sure if it was for better or for worse. Will knew her pain, could read her mind as well as his own. This life was filled with friends and happiness, this new life with the team and her titans and the secrets of the world unfolding before her, but it had also brought pain, more pain and fear than she ever thought imaginable. It had brought enemies knocking on her door, people hounding her every breath and step, with reaching, greedy hands. It had unlocked a power that both mystified and terrified her, uncontrollable until now, haunting her every moment with 'what if's and 'might have been's.<p>

And most of all, it had destroyed the one hope that had kept her going through all those years alone and bullied without a friend to call her own. Now, Eathon's fate had been revealed, and the outcome had destroyed her too. As her eyes fell on him, filled with a sorrow so vast he knew nothing he could say could help, knew meaningless words meant nothing against such a force, Will did the only thing he could.

He held out his arms.

In the blink of an eye, she had run to him and thrown herself into the fragile, false security of his embrace, hiding from the world in the walls he made around her, protecting her the only way he could against something that you could not fight with spells and titans and fists. For a moment, they stood there, and he silently told her all the things he could that he thought would heal the hurt.

We're here. You're not alone. I love you, a thousand times, I love you.

She lifted her head to gaze up at him, her pain seeming to fade, the loneliness that Eathon's final disappearance had brought vanishing as she realised the truth of his not-words. A weak smile graced her face, and she leant into his touch as he wiped her eyes, as if she was saying back: "I know. Thank you. I love you too, a million times, I love you too."

Silently, they turned and walked away from the site of so much pain and devastation, and with each step, Will's arm around her, Loki felt herself mend a little more, knew that while her old life was gone, her new one remained. Hope began to beat in her heart again. Yes, Eathon never made it to Atlantis, yes, he never made it here to his final goal, but she knew one thing about her father.

He never gave up.

Somewhere out there, Eathon was still waiting. It just wasn't here.

* * *

><p>Reaching the last flight of stairs, seeing why she had been brought there, Loki gave Will a strong smile, filled with strength and sure in the knowledge of her friends, family and love, and left his side to walk towards the puzzle and the light. As she passed by each of her teammates, she met their eyes, and silently each told the other that they were there for them, supporting and strong.<p>

Slotting the puzzle into place, a few swift moves solved it, the movements easy and the pattern foolishly simple after everything else they had had to fight to get here. In a way, that made sense. All the other things were trials to test them, to send back the unworthy and lead the true of heart to the ultimate end. As the last brick on the wall fell into place, the central circle of the design disappeared, a beam of warm, golden, peaceful light falling down to the stone slab they were gathered around, hovering in it a circular medallion, decorated with four gems, one blue, one red, one green and one white. Hardly daring to breath, Loki turned to Will, eyes wide.

"Is that-?"

"Yeah," He took her hand. "Eathon Lambert's goal- the Ancient Amulet of Will."

At its name, the light about it flared in triumph, as if delighted that finally a worthy one had come forth, champions of light to free the ancient powers and put them to good use, and it was in that light that Will, astounded and amazed, finally realised one final change that had come over Loki since he left her upstairs.

The markings about her neck, once shining silver and brilliant blue, were gone.

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><p>AN: Yay! As the end of the season grows nearer, I can't help but feel a little pride. 70 chapters. It seems like an impossible dream...<p> 


	72. Chapter 71 The Golden Asp

AN: Literally nothing happens in this episode. I swear it's the most boring one. I'm sure another would come to mind if I thought, but right now, that's all that's on my mind.

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 71- The Golden Asp Part 1

The long walk back to Thessaloniki and the airport was one filled with questions, chiefly and most importantly the disappearance of the symbols that had not long ago ringed Loki's neck. Of the matter, she said very little, claiming to not truly understand what had happened to her in Ireland, but there was a fear, a nagging thought that lingered in her eyes that said retrieving her 'soul' had answered a question she didn't even know she was asking. How she put it, simply, to her teammates was that something was stolen, and now it was back, Rassimov having dropped it during their fight, most likely upon collision to the wall she had flung him into, and seeing the worry, the anxiety in her eyes, they left it at that, though curiosity made them want to ask further. In the days that followed, they'd often see her sat or stood, still and silent, one hand tapping the base of her throat where the symbols had been, the distant and dark light of her eyes marking her as one whose thoughts were galaxies away, drifting among the stars and so distant that no one dared ask. When Loki was ready to tell them, she would, and until then, they would respect her wish for privacy in whatever she was dealing with. Will, however, was finding it difficult to hold his tongue, especially when he saw the fear that the darkness in her eyes would bring, a fear that cut at his own heart just as it did hers.

And so it was that they travelled to Germany again to report back to Metz, and offer the Ancient Amulet of Will into his hands for safekeeping.

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><p><em>Metz Country Estate, Germany<em>

Crowded around Metz's bedside, much to Lady S's displeasure- she was trying to insist upon proper hospital protocol that he have only two visitors at a time- the team was solemn and silent, though an undercurrent of excitement was thrumming in the air, the anticipation that something was about to happen. Sat up in bed, his eyes bright and vibrantly alive, the German focused his gaze on Dante, who was leaning by the windowsill with Zhalia, the teens again choosing to sit on the end of the bed, grinning but trying and failing to keep it off their faces.

"I take it," The brown-haired man said at last, a small smile creeping onto his face as he looked about at them all. "That the mission was a success?"

Dante nodded, padding over with a small bundle of cloth in his hands. "In more ways than one." Silently, now grinning too, he handed his burden over to his mentor, who, with shaking hands, unwrapped the precious artefact within. Gleaming in the light, the jewelled palette looked more magnificent now, cleaned and presented, than ever, even in the glory of victory. Maybe it was because it was safe now, in Foundation hands, but it was more likely because everyone here believed it to be, in some way, the source of a cure for the bed-ridden Metz.

With a heart fit to burst with hope, he gazed around at them, then slowly closed the cloth back over the gemmed pendant. "I do not know what the future will bring now that the Amulet of Will has been recovered, but I can safely say that it is a much brighter one for the free people of the world. My thanks, to you all." With a sigh, he raised the package into his hands once more and offered it towards Will. "But it is my belief that we can only secure that future with the other Legendary Titans, which means that this has no place beside me here. It belongs in the hands of an heir to the Casterwills, in the hands of its maker. I know that you will guard it well, Will." Face pale with shock, his own hands shaking now, Will reached out and took the oldest amulet known to man from Metz's hands, holding it close to his chest.

"I will." A fire sparked in his emerald eyes, burning bright and feverish. "I'll search all remaining records from my family for any sort of clues." Loki butted in, nudging his shoulder with her own, a silent reminder to calm down, that he wasn't alone, that it wasn't his burden to carry alone.

"Combine that with my Dad's journal, and we should have a good idea where to start looking. And if we can't find any clues, then I doubt the Organization will be able to either. Who else would know where Casterwill left his titans then the Casterwills themselves, right?"

Will bowed his head with a sigh. "You'd be surprised…" Flushing red as she realised what she said, Loki winced, then leant against him, a quiet apology that the returning pressure on her shoulder said was accepted.

Watching the exchange with a mixture of mirth and warmth, Metz shared a look with Dante and Zhalia, one that they had been sharing for a while now. It was a mixture of 'That's very cute', and 'Someone needs to get a move on a make the first step', with a hint of 'If they don't soon, I'm going to have to step in and bang their heads together'. It was an odd mix that most parents would recognise. Clearing his throat to get their attention, he turned back to Dante.

"You mentioned something about 'in more ways than one'?" It was Loki who answered, her bright and brilliant smile like someone seeing the sun after being held underground for eon upon eon, of dazzling freedom, glorious and magnificent, the sudden knowledge that there were no more chains and bars to hold you back. Silently, she parted her collar, revealing the skin beneath, clear and unstained. Metz held his breath, meeting the blonde's eyes, and seeing in her eyes something he had never thought he would see, the unearthly knowledge that only she would ever possess, the daughter of Eathon Lambert. In his heart, he wanted desperately to protect her from what he knew, but now his hand had been forced by the unfolding events, the depth in her eyes, wise and so blue that he knew that she knew as well. Between them, there was the link of Eathon, of the knowledge had had told his dear friend, the wisdom and words that she was now asking for.

The team, seeing this wordless, voiceless conversation, frowned, confused. After a moment, the older Seeker sighed, bowing his head under the weight of her longing, the _need_ to know. "Would you mind giving Loki and I a moment alone please? There are things we have to discuss that Eathon would have rathered that others did not hear." Reluctantly, understanding but wanting to be let in, to be there for their young friend, the others left.

"I'm guessing they don't know."

Loki shook her head slowly, staring after them. "They won't understand. _I_ don't understand. For now, they need to be focused on finding the Legendary Titans. I can't distract them. We're in the middle of a war."

"The very same reasons that I didn't want to tell you. I didn't feel you were ready."

"That's not your choice." Her voice was harsh, like a whiplash, bitter and angry and burning. "And the decision has been taken out of your hands anyway. I know now, whether you like it or not, and anything you don't tell me I'll soon find out on my own. I just want one question answered."

Metz sighed, resigned, giving in and giving up in the face of her righteous anger. "Very well, but chose your question wisely." She didn't pause, didn't even need time to think.

"Are there others?" He froze, the room as silent as a tomb, as silent as the bottom of the ocean. "Are there others like me?" She demanded again, standing now, shaking, not even she knowing if it was with rage or desperation, anger or sorrow. After a moment, Metz shook his head.

"How could there be others?"

Loki gave a bitter laugh, shaking her head, eyes shadowed. "Yeah. That's what I thought. I just… had to ask, y'know? Just in case. Thank you for telling me." Barely holding herself together, she managed a shaky smile as she turned away. "I… need a moment to think. If you'll excuse me?" Without waiting for permission or denial, she fled, running from him, the one that _could have told her_, but also from herself, and the truth that had been revealed in her heart.

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><p>From then on, as the team stayed in the protection of Metz's home whilst the Amulet of Will was in their possession, Loki kept away from the older Seeker as much as possible, obviously warring with herself and him, keeping to herself and saying little. That darkness in her eyes was growing, the fear and worry beginning to consume her, but the problem too much for her to ask anyone to help. This was something that she alone could deal with, but the loneliness was hurting, accelerating the rate at which the fear was taking over. She just couldn't find peace. Instead, after a period of silence and worrisome solitude, she threw herself into the task of locating the resting places of the last two Legendary Titans that belonged to Lord Casterwill- The Legendary Titans of Spirit and Mind, the latter of which had been missing for millennia.<p>

It was a late afternoon a few days after the 'Atlantis Incident' that a breakthrough was finally reached, a breathless and delighted Loki bursting into the room where Will and the others were lounging, the Casterwill feeling rather put out, his own books from Cavalier's Chamber not revealing anything. Looking up at her dramatic entrance, and glad to see the light that was back in her eyes, they watched with bated breath as she almost danced over, beaming. "I think I've got it!" The blonde chirped, sitting down beside her brunette friend, clutching her father's journal to her chest. "There's this one page, right here, that's written in a really old code- ancient system by the looks of it. I tried to crack it myself, but I couldn't even find a foothold to start with. The notes made by the symbols seem to suggest that there's a key to breaking it elsewhere, and so I got to thinking," She wrapped an arm around Will's shoulders, her sly smile growing by the minute. "Who has a book with a lovely little cipher in it for decoding all things Casterwill?"

The brunette gave an exhalted laugh. "Loki," He pushed the cipher book towards her, grinning, as the others gathered round. "You're a genius."

"Tell me something I don't know." She bent her head towards the books, taking the pencil from behind her ear and grabbing a piece of paper that Will had been making notes on. After a minute of furious scribbling, muttering under her breath, and hard thought, she cried triumphantly, eyes shining with joy. "According to this passage here," She tapped it with a finger. "It was King Solomon who was the last known Seeker to guard the Legendary Titan of Spirit. And this bit here," Her finger trailed down the page, pausing on a line about half-way down. "It mentions the legendary Mines of Ophir that once belonged to the Queen of Sheba!" Zhalia peered at the code, one eyebrow raised incredulously.

"The legend of King Solomon's mines, the fabled hiding place of his limitless gold?" The blonde nodded enthusiastically, her eyes glinting with mischief.

"And if that's where he hid all the valuable stuff, where better to hide the Amulet of the Legendary Titan of Spirit?"

"But the mines have never been found." Will sighed despondently, resting his chin on the palm of one hand. "Some even question if they ever existed at all."

"Apparently, they're somewhere in Ethiopia." The Casterwill rolled his eyes.

"I _love_ it when you get specific." She swatted his arm, laughing, before going through her notes again, humming lightly to herself. After a moment, she sighed, shaking her head, before smoothing the paper out onto the table and underlining a set of letters written to one side.

"There's a word here that keeps repeating, too often for it to just be filler code. It's familiar, but I can't say where from, but it has to be important! I'm gonna reckon it's a marker or name, something familiar from that era that's been lost now. Axum… gah!" She put her head in her hands, a muffled, miserable voice drifting up from between her fingers. "It's on the tip of my tongue, just at the edge of my thought! That is _really_ going to annoy me until I remember it!" One blue eye peering out at them, seeing their clueless faces, she sighed again, turning back to the paper. "It's the last bit that's either the most important or put there to fool you, though." Sitting up a little straight, she cleared her throat and chanted in a low voice. "When you observe the House of the Sleeping Kings, look north across the sands of Axum, and behold the Golden Asp."

There was a moment of thoughtful silence, before Will frowned, speaking slowly, still thinking. "Sleeping Kings… It seems like some kind of tomb."

The team nodded, collectively agreeing that it was the only possibility, and Zhalia sighed, moving on to a new section. "And Asp, as in snake or serpent?"

Like a lightning bolt out of the blue, inspiration struck, as Loki pulled the journal back towards her, flicking furiously through the pages. "A serpent, of course! Why didn't I think of that?!" She stopped just as suddenly as she had started, presenting the others with the page she had found. Upon it lay a detailed copy of an ancient map, spread across two pages. Circled clearly in bold, and a closer copy done at the bottom right hand corner, was a large statue resembling the coiled body of a cobra, hissing in deadly intent. The team looked at it, their smiles starting to grow, as the pieces began to fall into place.

Leaning back in his seat, Dante shared a smile with his team, filled with pride and excitement at the journey ahead. "Well, Seekers," The familiar words gave everyone a sense of calm, a rock amid the turbulent times. "We have a mission."

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to them, even as they were boarding a plane to Ethiopia from the German airport near Metz's house, another, more unsavoury group of Seekers were doing the same in Prague. Among them, surrounded by suits and cut off from the world beyond them, was an old man, who age had not been kind to. Fat, which a gauntness to his face that one did not expect to see in a man of his size, it was the one, blind, white eye that sat vacantly in its socket that set people on edge, and that was before they'd even spoken to him, heard his oily, golden voice, seen the gleam of malice in his one remaining eye as he stroked the ring on his left hand with sausage-like fingers. Once they were in the air, at the same time that Loki and the team were settling down for a short nap- flights were some of the only safe places left for the now, seeing as once you were sure there were no suits on board, there were very little chances of them getting on- this old man was settling down with a glass of wine.<p>

"Well, Rassimov," He growled, swirling the wine and observing it closely. "Here we are, on our way to the mysterious continent of Africa." The Professor, for it was he, took a sip of his beverage, tasting it slowly, and finding it to his satisfaction, waved his hand for the cabin crew to fill his glass to the brim. "With your increasingly impressive capacity for _bungling,_" He nearly spat the word, his lip curling with disgust, eyes shining with the need for violence, his pudgy hand white-knuckled around the stem of his glass, the only thing that kept it from breaking being the cushion that his hand itself provided. "I suppose I must carry out my own missions." There was a moment of silence, a silence filled with fear, as the Professor finished his glass.

"Lots of _lions_ in Africa. Do you _like_ lions, Rassimov."

Without an opinion to agree with, the dark Seeker was lost. The return to HQ after the disaster in Greece had not been… pleasant. It did not matter that he had returned on a stretcher, just that he was empty handed, and he had been punished accordingly. After a panicked second of indecision, he bowed his head. "I haven't much thought about them, Professor."

The serpentine snarl that hissed in his voice echoed through the dead quiet of the cabin, filled with murderous intent that was willing to inflict itself on anything and any_one_. "Perhaps you should. If you fail me once more, I shall, with the greatest satisfaction, have _you feed yourself to them_."

There was not one person in that plane that did not shudder at the mere thought of the threat. The Professor was in play now, the King moving onto the board, and for once in their miserable lives, the suits, and indeed Rassimov too, did not envy the Huntik Foundation one, little bit.

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><p>AN: Urgh. This is the mother of all filler episodes. Seriously, if I didn't end it here, there'd be nothing for the other chapters. Can't wait to get it over with...<p> 


	73. Chapter 72 The Golden Asp Part 2

AN: Here ya go, folks! Next bit! So glad that this episode is almost over now...

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 72- The Golden Asp Part 2

_Meh'ele Airport, Ethiopia_

Loki almost winced as they walked out of the air conditioned airport and into the sun. It was so hot and dry it hit you like a physical blow, driving the air from your lungs and baking them inside out. For an Irish girl used to much cooler climates, this was hell. Some said that it was cold, but Loki's hell burned. Cold, she could deal with. Cold, she liked. Deserts, not so much. Yes, her hatred of the warmth and love of the cold might have something to do with the way that spiders felt the opposite about it, but really! This was just excessive. Even Egypt had had a breeze every now and then!

Desperate to get out of the sun, she turned to the woman standing beside her. Zhalia was soaking up the rays as if she was born there, loving the heat, an actual smile on her face as she shielded her eyes to look up at the fierce, blazing sun. The blonde sighed, knowing that this trip was going to be miserable. "You did say there was someone waiting for us, right?" She didn't think she could stand waiting around in this heat for someone to show up. Will, fanning himself with a book, peered over.

"Yeah, who is this guy? You were pretty cagey when planning the trip."

The blue-haired Seeker looked down, ashamed, but seeing the support and comfort in the eyes of the man standing beside her, of all her teammates, she raised her chin. "He was a guide for a couple of my old missions. Of course, I'm talking about my Organization days…." Loki elbowed her gently, making her look up so she could see the smiles on everyone's faces.

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine!" She chirped, grinning. "Especially if he can take us somewhere with shade!"

"We trust you." Dante murmured quietly in her ear, as the teens began to search the crowd, Loki boosting herself up by pushing on Will's shoulder, almost causing them both to fall over. "If you say he's alright, then he's alright."

"He's a friend." She muttered back, just as quiet, laughing as Will began to lecture Loki on her behaviour, again, and the blonde began to pull faces.

"Then he's a friend. Nothing to it."

A loud '_honk'_ broke the peace surrounding them all, an unfamiliar voice calling a familiar name making them all wary, till Zhalia smiled, raising a hand in greeting to the tall man running across to them, waving manically with a similar smile on his face. He was dark-skinned, with tan layered on top, with rich brown eyes and dreadlocks held back by a band of bright yellow cloth. Everything about him spoke of ease and approachability, his smile making instant friends, compassion in his very bones. One glance, and the team liked him already.

"Everyone, this is Otto. He's going to take us to his village not too far from here." She smiled warmly as the man clasped hands with everyone, noticing with particular amusement Will's expression as he lingered with Loki, who flushed red, but with the heat, it was hard to tell. The mocha-eyed operative laughed quietly to herself. Otto was always such a smooth talker. "Otto, these are the friends I was telling you about. Will," The boy nodded, cool eyes wary now. "Dante," The auburn smiled, lifting a hand. "And Loki." The blonde gave a quick smile, blushed, and bowed her head again. Will was not amused with their new friend, sticking close to the Lambert and giving Otto a clear stare. Recognising her as 'taken', the charm offensive was lowered to a more agreeable level. Leading them over to an old car, he popped open the boot, helping everyone put their bags in, Loki waiting until last to set Cherit's bag gently on the top of the pile, opening the neck so that some more air got in. The titan gave her a silent, thankful thumb up, and she smiled back in reply, climbing in the back last next to Will, with Zhalia taking the other window seat, and Dante in the front with Otto. As such, when they were pulling away, she felt a chill of fear that chased away all memories of warmth, even here in sunny Africa, as she thought she saw a figure in the crowd that she had only ever seen with her mind. After a moment, she shook her head, turning forwards. It couldn't have been. The Professor himself never got involved. It couldn't have been him…right?

* * *

><p>Sadly, Loki was not mistaken, and in the same moment she had seen him, the Professor had seen her. Taking a contingent of his suits, he stepped up to the nearest cab, settling himself in the back with his henchmen gathered around. Wordlessly, as the driver cheerfully asked him where he would like to go, he raised his left hand, the ring upon it glinting cruelly. The man's speak trailed off, his eyes glazing over. Satisfied that he was listening properly now, the Professor smirked. "You will not lose sight of that car up ahead." He commanded softly. "Even at great personal risk. Do you understand?"<p>

As if half-asleep, the driver nodded his head. "Y-yes, Professor." His voice was slurred, his speech unclear, but his hands and feet worked fine, sending the car speeding after the Huntik team, and leaving Rassimov, speechless with rage, left behind with only a pair of suits, to find his own way to wherever it was they were going.

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><p>Later that night, and feeling much better now that the sun was gone and the cool desert air soothed her feverish skin, Loki was studying the old map in her father's journal again as the others finished dinner, Cherit perched on the end of the table happily, with a bowl and spoon of his own. Will was watching her with concern, noting with worry that she did not eat much, had not been eating much, since Atlantis. In the back of his mind, he made a note to keep an eye on his friend.<p>

Expecting the blonde to start the investigation, and surprised when she kept her eyes on her book, Dante sighed, shaking his head exasperatedly, and turned to their guide. "So, Otto," The man shifted to face him, eyebrow raised curiously. "What can you tell us about the region?"

Glad to be of use, the Ethiopian settled back in his chair, thinking. "This area is very old, about 4th century. There are many ancient cities and villages." The team sighed, knowing that it didn't help with their search when there were many possible resting sites.

Trying a new tactic, Will spoke up. "Do you know anything about King Solomon's mines?"

"Perhaps," Otto sighed, shrugging. "But I'm afraid there are many mysterious legends in the desert, particularly about the ancient civilizations." Loki paused in her reading, something about the conversation ringing a bell at the back of her mind. The boy beside her shook his head, despairingly.

"Then where on earth do we start?"

The dark-eyed man patted his shoulder comfortingly, an automatic response no matter who it was whenever he saw someone down in the dumps. "I take you to the desert, just outside of Axum-"

He was cut off by a sharp cry from the blonde, who was beaming with delight as the light bulb above her head '_ping'_-ed on, an idea lighting up her mind. "Of course! Axum- the Aksumite Empire! It was the kingdom next to Solomon's, right? A trading nation?"

Otto nodded, delighted to have someone else here who knew his legends, a sense of pride filling his heart. "Once a very powerful kingdom, founded during the reign of the Queen of Sheba." For a moment, Loki was still, before she put her head in her hands with a lengthy sigh.

"Gods, I am being particularly dense today." She muttered, then raised her head. "The forbidden romance, between the Queen and King Solomon! _That's_ the connection between the Mines of Ophir, and Solomon- they were a gift, from the Queen of Sheba."

Smiling, Otto traced the map she passed towards him, nodding as he recognised landmarks and places. "Then perhaps she is what you seek in the desert. Many royal tombs are hidden there."

Loki gave a wry smile. "Well at least I got one part of the riddle right." She grinned at the others. "So we're looking for the tomb of the Queen of Sheba, which takes the form of a statue of a giant snake. Should be simple, right?"

Dante nodded, resting his chin on his clasped hands. "Tomorrow we leave for the desert."

Otto spread his hands wide, as easy going as ever, before passing the journal back to its owner. "If that is what you wish."

"Indeed we do." A spark of merriment gleamed in his golden eyes. "Unfortunately, even if we find the Golden Asp and the Legendary Titan of Spirit," He paused for a moment, looking at the anxious faces of the teens opposite, before smiling widely, inwardly laughing at their expressions. "Nothing with compare to the treasure of Otto's dinner." There was a quiet burst of relieved laughter and 'here, here's from Cherit, happiness and joy just seeming to the only emotion capable when near such a happy-go-lucky, friendly person as their guide had turned out to be.

* * *

><p>However, the team were so caught up in his aura of cheer, that no one noticed the strangely glinting eyes that watched them through the window, a villager standing from his hiding place as his eyes glowed purple before turning and walking silently away. He quietly joined a crowd that had formed in the centre of the village, gathered almost protectively around the well. In the centre of the group stood two suits, flanking an old man, who smirked as he fingered the ring on his hand. Satisfied with the size of the mob, the Professor raised his voice so all could hear. "There is a monster living among you, disguised as a young girl. She calls herself Loki Lambert, and while her outward appearance may seem sweet and kind, do not be deceived! She is a demon, waiting to destroy you all. Only my men and I know how to contain her- bring her to me, and your village will be spared!"<p>

Angry mutters, scared and panicked, began to rumble through the mass of people. "Loki Lambert, that wretched creature!" "She'll poison our well!" "She'll burn our homes to the ground!" "We have to stop her!" "Think of our wives and children!"

Nodding sagely, the Professor called out to them, settling their growing fear, setting them to his own dark purpose. "Tell your friends, _all _your friends, and then bring them to me. I'll explain _everything_ to them." In the darkness of the night, the white orb of his blind eye seemed to shine like a moon, but the other was like a black hole, taking all light in, and giving nothing back.

* * *

><p>Loki looked up from her perch by the window as the team gathered by the door, placing a marker on the page with the map before tucking the journal away and standing to join them. They smiled as she neared, all excited and nervous, anxious to be underway. "So," Dante hefted his bag onto his shoulder, looking around, making a list in his mind and trying to remember if he'd forgotten anything. "Everyone ready?"<p>

"Think so." Zhalia nodded as everyone did a quick scour of the room, checking lists and bags. The desert was no place to go unprepared, even with Seeker powers. She was a treacherous mistress, as likely to be calm or stormy as the sea was. Securing the tie around her waist, to keep her bag from being carried off in sandstorms, Loki paused as a sudden thought came to mind, turning to their guide with fear in her eyes.

"Um, Otto?"

He looked from his own preparations. "Yes, Loki."

"Are there any _spiders_ in the desert?" He gave her a comforting smile.

"Perhaps," She shuddered, and the team barely withheld a laugh at her face. Otto smiled wryly, raising an eyebrow. "But, I thought we were looking for snakes?"

"We've got bigger problems right now." Dante, leaning by the window where Loki had been sat not a few minutes before, grinned, but it was one that the team had learnt to be wary of- it was one that meant there was a fight coming, a storm brewing, the auburn looking to such things as entertainment. Loki sighed. It could never be easy, could it? "Take a look."

Slowly, cautiously, the team peered out the window. A second was all it took to see the situation- a mob was forming outside the house, with men sitting on the wall, leaning over the gate, crowded outside, with looks on their faces like this was a cave, and that they didn't like the beast within, people facing a monster because they had to, not because they wanted to. The blonde staring out at them felt a stirring of unease in her heart, a misgiving that told her there was more to this mob then just a dislike of outsiders. Cherit was the first to speak, breaking the worried and stunned silence that had fallen. "They… don't' look very neighbourly, do they?"

Dante frowned, thinking, watching and listening to the crowd outside. After a moment, his eyes widened slightly, the only outward sign of his worry and fear that he would allow, before he reached out and gently drew Loki back away from the window. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, confused, before seeing something in his eyes that she recognised, understanding now, and feeling the fear in her heart begin to rise like bile in her throat. As the rest of the team moved away, out of view of their sudden audience, she stood silently by Will, slipping her hand into his and holding on tightly. Startled, he looked down at her, worried, wondering why she was afraid, then leaned against her instead, promising to himself that he would protect her.

The auburn took one last look at the mob before turning back to his team. "They've been sent by the Organization to stop us leaving the village."

Will frowned, pursing his lips in thought, before shaking his head. "It makes sense, but if this is mind control, how many Seekers are capable of controlling such a large group of people?"

"As far as I know," Zhalia's voice was deathly quiet, solemn and wary. "Just one."

With a start, Loki remembered the silhouette, the figure she had not-quite-seen in the crowd at the airport, a moment so brief she had convinced herself that she was mistaken, that she couldn't have seen him… "The Professor." She voiced the name that no one else was daring to mention, the one that was at the fore-front of all their minds. "He's here."

Taking control, Dante stood a little straighter, steel in his eyes, determined and composed. "We need to get out of here."

Timidly, his bright spark gone, Otto raised his hand. "We do still have the car."

Like a general in a warzone, Dante began to move his troops. "Otto, go around back with our supplies. Bring the car around on my signal. We're all counting on you." The man nodded, taking everyone's bag but Loki's, which still had Cherit and the journal in it, two things she wouldn't let go of, and ran out the back door, his hurried steps as quiet as he could make them. "Everyone else, defensive only. Nice and slow, no sudden movements. We don't want to fight them, just get through. Will, you and Loki stick together if a fight breaks out. Zhalia, you're with me. Pair fighting will allow us to fight our way through without having to seriously hurt anyone. Alright, Seekers, let's roll." Silently, Loki knew his real reason.

The one name the mob was muttering was hers.

Wordlessly, they crossed the room, Will slowly opening the door before he and Dante walked out, Loki and Zhalia behind. The moment the blonde's golden locks caught the sun, the crowd stilled, silent, watching. The team held their breath as they got closer and closer to the mass of angry faces and hate-filled eyes. As they neared the gate, and the mob began to move aside to let them pass, a collective sigh of relief passed through all of their lips. Of course, it was then that it went wrong.

"Get the demon, and her minions!" One voice was all it took to set the rest going, fists and voices raised, charging forwards. "Destroy them before she destroys us!"

"The Professor's twisted their minds!" Dante didn't know if he was warning the others, or trying to get rid of the fear and guilt in Loki's eyes as this mob of people called for her blood and calling her a monster. "Remember, they're not our enemies, and we're not theirs!" Ducking low, he swept two men over his back, and dodged past a third, only to find him spin inhumanely fast on one heel to grab him around the neck and hold him still whilst a four with glowing fists made to punch him in the face. He kicked him away, then twisted and threw his captor over his shoulder, tossing him away. In the midst of the fighting, he found himself next to Loki, who was standing fiercely with her tiny fists raised. "They've been pumped up by the Organization!" He warned her, as she jumped to roundhouse kick a man in the chest. "We'll have to use our powers."

Blowing a strand of hair away from her face as her hair fell out of its bobble, she sighed, nodded once, and blasted a trio of men away with a well-placed Boltflare. "I suppose they won't remember anything when the mind control wears off. Just don't hurt anyone _too_ badly!"

They separated again, blocking blows and making some of their own. Dante almost laughed as he heard her about the battlefield. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Shaking his head, he turned back as two white blurs sped past his head, one an Augerfrost sent by Zhalia to ward back the people trying to ambush the gold-eyed man, the other being Cherit, who flew at a group of men, cackling with glee. They fell over, scared by the titan, obviously thinking him some kind of demon, and the pint-sized creature grinned at his teammates, a wicked glint in his yellow eyes.

"See?" He crowed. "Not a scratch on them!"

Standing back to back with the blue-haired woman at his side, Dante watched as the crowd worked to try and separate the team, managing to split the teens up. As Will began to get overwhelmed, he and Zhalia shared a look, nodded, the turned to face each other again. "Touchram!" Working together, they melded their powers into one, large explosion, freeing Will, who gave them a thankful smile before diving back into the fight, grabbing Loki's hand and pulling her back to safety, the team all standing side by side now, a wall against the raging sea.

"Otto!" Dante raised his voice above the roar of the crowd. "Hurry!" There was a loud bang as the wall beside them was crashed into, the back of Otto's car screeching to a halt. Racing across the stunned space, the team dove inside, Dante in the front, and the others in the back, Cherit flying hurriedly after the car as it sped away before a hand darted out and pulled him in through the window.

* * *

><p>Loki let out a sigh of relief as the crowd disappeared behind them. "Well," She muttered, retying her hair, and trying not to elbow Will in the process, thanks to the enclosed space. "That was exciting."<p>

Dante turned back to look at his team, noting with amusement that Will had finally given up trying to avoid Loki's elbows and offered to tie her hair for her. Smiling across at Zhalia, he leaned back to tilt her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet his. "Nice to see you haven't lost your edge." A small smile worked its way onto her face in return. "Though I think you got a scrape or two." Moving back into his seat, he turned to face their driver. "What's next?"

Otto's quiet voice answered slowly, solemnly. "Take a look behind us. You'll see what's next."

With wide eyes, the team turned to see a black sedan, its windows tinted, screaming after them, and rapidly catching up, crashing into the back of them and sending them shooting forwards, wheels spinning wildly for a moment before regaining control. Struggling to control the car, Otto whimpered quietly. "Already, I do not like this mission." He muttered, jumping as a reassuring hand was rested on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, my friend." Dante's serious eyes were filled with determination, giving the other man confidence. "Just keep driving!" Zhalia's warning came a second before the car crashed into them again, trying to drive them off the road, with Otto crying about how this was not actually his car, but his father's.

"We need to shake them off somehow!" Dante growled, knowing that even if they reached the desert, with these suits on their tails, they'd either stop them getting to or follow them to the Golden Asp. "Any turn-offs ahead?"

Otto shook his head. "There is nothing, and a quarter mile up ahead there is the Indigo bridge."

"A bridge?" Dante grinned, eyes lighting up with an idea. "Say no more." He turned to face his team in the back. "Loki, Zhalia- showtime, ladies." With a mischievous smile, the pair unbuckled their seatbelts and half-slid out the open windows, leaning back against the car like figureheads on a ship, Will keeping a steady eye on Loki, knowing that out of the pair, she would be the one most likely to slip, hurt herself, or fall out of the car.

"Zhalia!" Loki's voice was almost swept away by the wind as she and the blue-haired woman slowly raised a hand each, keeping tight hold onto the car with their other one. "Can you distract them whilst I make a blockade?" A sly smile crept onto her friend's face, her answer a dark black light that gathered about her hands.

"Darkfog!" The smog flew to cover the windscreen of the sedan, the drivers crying out and trying in vain to clear it with their windscreen-wipers. Satisfied, the older Seeker leant back against the car to watch the blonde work, curious.

Taking a deep breath, the Lambert closed her eyes, the blue-grey glow of her powers beginning to rise against her skin. Her eyes, now blue and burning like the hottest flame, sparks of sliver swimming in their depths, she levelled her hand at the road behind them.

Ropes of blue-and-silver river-fire sped from her palm to embed themselves in the road, burying deep into the rock like roots into soil, appearing out of the ground a few meters down the line. With a wave of her hand, Loki pulled back the fire, and in turn tore a chunk of rock from the path, leaving a gorge just that bit longer than the car, though shallow enough that the villagers would be able to fix it later. The rock hovered ominously as the car raced towards the hole, falling in with a screeching _'crunch'_ as the bonnet crumpled. Tilting her head to one side, the blonde's eyes seemed to consider the scene before she nodded, releasing her hold on the slab of stone, letting it fall to produce a second _'crunch'_, this time crushing the trunk, before toppling onto its side, and sliding off with a noise akin to that of nails on a blackboard.

The ladies slid back into their seats as the sedan's engine spluttered, croaked, then finally managed to rumble again, struggling to get out of the minor pit before staggering after the Huntik Team again, with just enough distance for Dante's plan to work. Glancing anxiously around at the faces of the calm Seekers, Otto raised his eyes to meet Zhalia's in the rear-view mirror. "Is your friend Dante going to be alright?"

His eyes flickered to the empty seat beside him, the open window, as the coffee-eyed operative gave a confident smile, a giggle bubbling from her lips. "Are you kidding?" She laughed. "He lives for this stuff!"

Said auburn was currently standing, perfectly balanced despite the bumps of the road and the speed of the vehicle, on the roof of Otto's car, arms crossed and a smirk firmly in place on his face. Watching the sedan gradually begin to catch up as the car, with a soft _'cla-thunk'_ reached the bridge, rocketing across the wooden slats, he grinned, lifting his hand to the sky, the royal purple light that sprang from within his fist flowing to cover him all in a amethyst glow. "Come on out, Metagolem!" Just as the sedan flew onto the bridge, the mighty titan appeared to block the way, swinging the rope-and-wood structure as the team reached the other side, sending the sedan skidding back and forth, the suits finally abandoning ship to try and reach the other side of foot, a bad idea as the stone king tilted the bridge once more, sending them falling into the fast-flowing river below, the sharp retort of wood cracking the only warning before the planks holding the sedan broke, and the car followed suit.

Sharing a smile as Metagolem returned to his amulet, the team looked forwards into the desert, their eyes already searching for that shine of gold.

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><p>AN: Nearly over now...<p> 


	74. Chapter 73 The Golden Asp Part 3

AN: Sorry for the wait, folks! Just a little note to say I am so grateful to anyone out there who has stuck with me despite the unexpected hiatus. I'm back now, and I promise I'm gonna try to update regularly from now on! Illness, moving house, exams, and failing said exams has kinda taken up a lot of my time recently, but I'm settled now, and that's how its going to stay (hopefully!)! Enjoy, and I hope it's worth the wait!

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><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 73- The Golden Asp Part 3

_Axum Desert, Ethiopia_

All her life, Loki had loved the sun. In wet and miserable Ireland, she had looked forwards to sunny days with glee and excitement, relished every moment in the light and the warmth, and even now she was older, with all she knew, being in sunlight always made her feel safer somehow, as if protected by the golden rays. She had a feeling she wouldn't feel that way about the sun after this mission. African sun was oppressive, harsh and unbearable. It beat down on your back like a scalding whip, lashing you until you could take no more. It tore at pale complexions, leaving red finger-trails where it had whispered across light skin. It was no friend to any man, a fierce and unwavering opponent that you battled constantly until nightfall, along with its friends Dehydration and Heatstroke. Night would bring brief respite, the cold too deep and different to offer much relief.

With a quiet sigh, knowing complaining would do no good, Loki tied her now annoyingly voluminous hair up off her neck again, wishing momentarily that she still had the blue scarf she had once used to keep the glowing symbols of her 'soul' theft hidden. It would have made a good headscarf, or at least been another layer of protection between her and the cruel sun.

A hand on her shoulder startled her, and she turned her head to meet warm, brown eyes, rich and earthen. "Just have patience, my friend. It cannot be much further now." With a bright grin, she rested a hand on Otto's in return, before hefting her rucksack higher onto her shoulder and hurrying over where Will was standing with Dante, who had pulled out his Holotome, inspecting a light-image that was shining on the shimmering, dancing desert air.

"Otto's right." He looked up briefly, scanning the surrounding land, then went back to the map, his golden eyes the same brilliant shade as the shifting sand around them. "According to the Holotome, we're headed in the right direction." The auburn and his student shared an excited smile as Zhalia sauntered over from where she had been scouting ahead, her footing steady and sure despite the treacherous nature of the sand dunes.

"How far?" It was the question they were all dying to know, but dreading the answer to. The lion-like man sighed, a rueful grin playing at his lips as the blue-haired Seeker leaned over his shoulder to inspect the map in turn.

"Well, I've overlaid the map from the journal with a map of the area, but it _is_ just a guess." He shrugged, frowning slightly. "Maybe a few miles more."

Another tired sigh slipped past Loki's lips before she could stop it, her new-found hatred of the sun resurfacing as she tried to hide it behind a crooked grin. She laughed nervously as Will gave her a worried look, tilting her head to one side and shrugging. "A guess from an expert such as yourself, Dante, is pretty much certain!" Packing his Holotome away again, the russet-haired man took the praise in his stride, confident in his expertise and the data which he had been given. Silently, the group set off across the sands once more.

As they settled into a thin line, Will found his usual place beside the blonde, emerald eyes dark despite the bright surroundings, narrowed at his younger friend with concern. "You okay?" He scanned her anxiously, searching for hidden injuries or wounds. "You've been lagging behind for a bit. Is Cherit getting too heavy?"

"Nah, he's fine." Like a turn on her heel, all of Loki's tiredness was swiftly replaced with upbeat energy and eagerness. "I'm just a little thirsty, is all, but I guess everyone's suffering in this heat."

Zhalia's cool tones drifted back on the dry air, the mocking edge hiding her care as usual. Everyone had been very careful with the blonde since her strange behaviour after Atlantis- solitude and brooding were the very opposite of anything they had come to associate with Loki, and however brief the stint had been, it was enough to warrant further watching. "What happened to your canteen? Usually, you're such a Brownie."

The teen laughed softly as she fingered the canteen swinging at her hip, looking over her shoulder into sheepish yellow-and-grey eyes. "Well, I had filled it before we left, but some pint-sized Titan I know needed to wash the sand out from between his toes!" Cherit at least had the good grace to look embarrassed, ducking his head to hide against the blonde's neck, his low and creaking voice mutter inaudible apologies and excuses.

"Here," With a sigh and a shake of his head, Will reached to the canteen clasped at his waist, offering it towards the azure-eyed girl with a wry twist to his lips. "Just make sure to leave enough for me, okay?"

With a grateful smile, Loki took it, summer-sky eyes crinkled at the corners as she beamed. "Promise." She murmured quietly, and while the flush on her cheeks could have easily been due to the heat, the Casterwill could have sworn she was blushing. Taking a sparing sip, she quickly handed it back, determinedly ignoring the pleading eyes of the creature draped over her shoulder, who was met with a stern look from the boy beside her.

"Nice try, Cherit, but that look isn't going to work with me." He patted the loop securing the water to his hip with a firm hand, a smug tilt to the tip of his lips. "You're a Titan. You don't _need_ water like we do. Have some patience." With a pout and a disgruntled '_huff'_, the white spirit being leapt from Loki's shoulder and into the air, the beat of his wings giving the team a much needed breeze as he escaped from his shame.

* * *

><p>They carried on in this way till the sky and the sand began to meld into a sea of orange, the sunset fast approaching, and their daylight running out, like grains in an hourglass. With Cherit leading the way, it took even experienced Otto a while to realise that the wind was picking up, his shouted warning coming too late as the faithless mistress that was the desert turned against them, shrieking and screaming as a sandstorm rose about them, twisting this way and that with fierce gale winds and sand like fragmented bullets grazing them as it past. With a shriek of his own, Cherit disappeared once more into Loki's pack, racing against the rising wind to fold his wings away, safe from the grip of the storm.<p>

As they marched on, the world disappeared in a haze of gold, yellow, orange, the colours seeming to merge with them, become part of them, the desert attempting to claim them as their own. Like living, breathing fire, it swirled around them like an ever-shifting, ever-changing cage, an inescapable dream-like prison, monotonous and wearisome. It was Will who stumbled first, losing his tread amid the fluid sands. Loki was by his side in an instant, but he avoided her gaze, keeping his head down. At first, she believed him to be shielding his eyes from the blinding pain of the dust and dirt, but she caught a flash of forest as he moved to stand again, and froze. There was an ancient fear in his eyes, dark and nameless and _old_, so pure and unadulterated that it seemed to hang around him like a separate entity, a black figure clinging to him with resolute resolve, unwilling to free him from its grasp. Hesitantly, she slipped her hand into his, squeezing it once to lend him strength, and he startled, meeting her eyes momentarily in surprise. Her heart broke, seeing the weakness he was hiding, his eyes like those of a young child, hopelessly lost in despair and pain.

"Fire."

It was all he said, and she _knew_, so suddenly that it hurt. She remembered Paris, the Chamber of Cavalier, the past he had told her of, the gaps that had been filled and the fear it had brought him. Flame had taken all that he was, destroyed him and left him as a mere shell, a shell he had worked so hard to fill, to make real once more. Normally, fire didn't bother the young Casterwill, even with this bone-deep loathing, but now, this place, this land of blazing sand, dancing and rising around them like that cursed flaring beast, it was as close to Will's nightmares as it was possible to get, his own personal, private _hell_ made flesh and solid and real, appearing so quickly that he had had no time to raise even the weakest wall against the past that was now beside him, screaming wordless cries in his ears of memories he had long forgotten. Without a word, she let him lean against her shoulder as they soldiered on, burying his head against her hair, blocking out the world both fantasy and real alike. Sharing a look with Dante, or as best as she could through the rough weather, she felt a similar sadness fill her eyes, the sorrow that comes from the bond you share with someone in such torment, and she saw her mentor nod once, turning towards their guide as he sheltered his eyes.

"Otto!" His yell was scarcely heard over that of the wind. "How long do these things last?"

The answer sent a chill of terror down Will's back, a shudder, a ripple of dread that Loki could feel, a soft trembling under her hand like the heart of a frightened bird.

"Sometimes an hour!" He paused, unwilling to say the rest of what was on his mind, before sighing, a noise so gentle the storm stole it away. "Sometimes a week!"

With a grimace, Dante moved to take the lead, he and Loki near the front, their bright and vibrant hair making for good lighthouses in the darkness around them. Squinting against the sand, it seemed as if, for the merest of moments, that there was something else amid the swirling gold and bronze, and he opened his eyes wide, willing them to see past the pain and the tempest. As he realised what he was seeing, he cast himself down, crying out a warning for the others to do the same. No sooner had he done so, then a trio of Boltflares were flung over their heads, crashing into the sand and sending a great plume of dust into the air like the breath of a giant, a pair of Enforcers following soon after, giving Dante just enough time to call up an Armourbrand before attacking.

Zhalia danced to one side to avoid a beam of white, pure light, casting her hands before her face to shield her eyes as she summoned an orange nimbus about her body. "Kilthane!" Her voice cracked as the gale stole her words. "Your lady calls!" His cape being tossed about by the winds, the black knight sliced through one bug-like Titan with ease, a Bonelasher invoked by the enemy as a vindictive response. It landed beside the teens with a scream of rage that disappeared in the noises of the sandstorm, before shrieking with disgust as the swamp-dwelling Titan discovered the taste of sand.

Pushing Loki away as it smote at the earth in anger, Will flung his hands out, a wild spell that went far wide, his aim put off by speed of casting, fear, and storm. A quiet hand on his shoulder, delicate but sure, steadied him, settled him, gave him a place of calm as if in the eye of the storm, the scream of the wind dying away, leaving a silence so sudden that it was almost terrifying, as if the world had ceased to exist. It took him a moment to realise that it wasn't all in his head, his heart, that in fact, the storm had been cast aside. The figure beside him was both familiar and alien- the lines of its face and the colour of its eyes were beloved and memorised in a piece of his heart, but the colours of its skin and hair were wrong, the wings were strange and bizarre, but all were both beautiful and terrible for it, especially the eyes. It was as if the azure of the iris had bled, as if it could not be contained, had flooded the rest of its eyes with power and foreignness. But the smile named her, chased away the strangeness and left only _her_. With the same brilliant grin as she always gave in battle, a mix of heady rush and pushed aside fear, leaving only reckless courage in its wake, Loki raised one hand and a wall rose around them, the winds driven back by the beating of wings.

"Give me some cover!" The blonde commanded softly, eyes fixed on Bonelasher now recovered and charging towards them. "I can't fight and keep back the storm at the same time!" The brunet beside her nodded, and leapt into action, her knight and guardian, even as she protected him in turn.

The sanctuary of her shielding magic attracted the attention of the suits collected around them, the calm standing out in the midst of the chaos, and they swarmed it, seeking the safety it would bring. Sensing their presence and knowing it would be too much, Loki's other hand was raised, glowing turquoise as the sea on a perfect day. "Be my shield! Baselaird!" The golden giant appeared instantly, switching with Will instinctively to take on his spiritual brother, leaving the experienced caster to take on the human opponents. As the green-skinned humanoid lashed out, he twisted, catching the claws on, no, _in _his mighty shield, before using his strength to cast him aside, and literally crushing him in a wrestler-like jump, his enemy turning into nothing more than light on the unnaturally still air.

Taking advantage of their numbers, one suit raised an amulet, unnoticed until it was too late. The cat warrior Sekmet snarled its fury as it charged towards the preoccupied blonde, before a streak of brown crossed its path, a hurried Honourguard Will's only defence against its claws, reckless in his haste. Feeling the comforting shape against his palm as he drove his hand into his pocket, a knife-slash of a smile cut through the battle-focus on the Casterwill's face. "Come to me! Sabriel!" The ram-woman met the cat's blades with a smirk of confidence. With a sigh of relief, Will moved to stand protectively at Loki's back again, knocking out the suits with a quick flurry of spells, before inspecting the swirling world beyond the wall with wary eyes, watching, waiting.

* * *

><p>Beyond the spell, Zhalia was doing the same, monitoring the battle as well as she could whilst hunkering low with Otto. From where she was, she found, to her subdued horror and disgust, that she couldn't see the rest of the team anymore, the storm having swallowed the vibrant gold of Loki's hair, the fiery auburn of Dante's, even Will's dust-muted brunet disappearing away and gone, like a ghost of the ancient races that once ruled this land. Otto's soft whimper somehow making it to her ears despite the tempest, she paused in her watch to smile warmly down at him, or as best as she could, given the situation. "Just stay close to me." He nodded, eyes searching and seeking comfort, like a child in the night, and she cursed her fate that she, the one worst at giving reassurances, was now being asked for it.<p>

In her moment of laxness, a bolt of freezing cold, abnormal in this desert, and so strange and bizarre as its light reflected off the deep, rich earthen shade of the African guide's eyes, streaked through the gold towards them, the blue like a lightning bolt in a thunderstorm. It struck Zhalia full on, even as she turned to raise a shield against it, sending her and Otto flying, as she crashed into him. The scream of the storm filled her ears as she lay there, stunned, only vaguely aware as Otto lifted her arm around his neck, and helped her stagger away, his instincts leading them on into the tempestuous desert.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Dante had finally found an opponent amongst the blustering and blinding conditions, and was glad of it. The walk through the desert had been tedious at best, and there was nothing more exciting for the auburn than to test his skills against a challenger, however inferior. In an attempt to even the odds, the suit had pulled out an amulet, brandishing it with as much confidence and arrogance as an ordinary human would wield a gun in a fight between regular people. However, that amulet, Dante mused, would probably be about as useful as a water-gun. The suit did not seem pleased by his dismissal, tossing his long, silver-blonde hair over his shoulder with a <em>'humph'<em>, and sneering elegantly. "_Rassimov_ gave me a new toy." He thrust the amulet into the air. "Fight, Dark Pharaoh!"

The death-mask like pendant shone as gold as the sun, like a ray of purest light was being poured out into the world. The Titan materialised with a muffled screech, like a bird of prey, a hawk even, wearing a gag. Its body was a whirling tornado of bandage, sand, and golden light, its shoulders bearing a ragged mantle, and its face was as its amulet, save for the face that was filled with a quartet of ruby, too-human eyes, filled with hatred and malice.

In return, still rather bored, a flash of turquoise broke through the storm, and the tri-winged bird of Rome and Athens flew through the veil, dodging an energy ball with ease with a caw of raucous laughter. Below the hovering forms and shadows, their Seekers battled, Dante taking his adversary almost too lightly, when an explosion beside them from a stray power sent the amber-orbed man tumbling over, his footing gone for one vital moment, the suit taking full advantage and putting all his weight in the small of the other man's back, using his hair as grip. Eyes narrowed against the sand now shoved in his face, the Huntik Seeker managed to choke out one word between the grains of sun-dust. "C-_Caliban_!"

The Aztec walked calmly from his amulet as if he had all the time in the world, lifting the suit by the head with one hand, crushing in a cruel grip. Before he could do any proper damage, however, a blast to the back caught him off guard, the Dark Pharaoh having gotten tired of being beaten by a pathetic little pigeon, and instead seeking easier prey. As his Titan clutched his stomach, falling to one knee, Dante twisted and leapt to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of sand, along with a spell, a Touchram blasting forth to turn the Egyptian Titan back into the fragments of the past and scraps of bandages that made up its being.

* * *

><p>Back inside the barrier, whose floor was now littered with the bodies of a few unconscious suits, Loki and Will were using the current lull in fighting to call for the others, trying to lead them to the relative safety of the blonde's magic, unaware that they had instead garnered the attention of a rather nefarious fellow instead. Rather than face the obviously seasoned fighters himself, this suit, a heavyset man with a thick beard, sent his Enforcer to harass them with an inaudible click of his fingers. The buzzing of its wings was their only warning as it broke into the 'eye', the pair ducking quickly. Thinking quickly, Loki cast the first one-handed spell that came to mind, still needing the other to maintain her shield, a relatively newly learnt one called Ropetrick, which summoned a length of the stuff that sprouted from her palm to wind around her target. However, this time, the Enforcers' many tiny dagger-hands shredded the bindings before they could even wrap around it once. Cursing, she found herself grabbed from behind, and prepared to fight, before she realised it was Will pulling her out of the way of a white-light blast.<p>

Nodding to him, she pulled another amulet out of her pocket, Baselaird having been returned after his fight with the Bonelasher, Sabriel the same after her battle with the Enforcer, the teens having foolishly thought that the fight was over. In a burst of blue, familiar and sure, Freelancer appeared, simply smashing his shield to pieces in the Enforcers' face, and destroying them both. The sound of footsteps alerted them to more people breaking through, and they span to face the quartet approaching with a slow kind of conceit, as if they believed themselves to have to already have won. There were two suits and two Bonelashers in all, and they swaggered, as if their hips were bowed under the weight of their own pretentious superiority.

It was over in a flash.

From behind them all, out of the whirlwind and the wild winds, one figure split into two, and both Dante and Caliban smashed a pair of heads together each, knocking all four out cold instantaneously. Loki sank onto her knees, Will kneeling beside her as the shield seemed to shrink, her brow furrowed in concentration, the light about her flickering briefly before all strengthened and renewed itself, complete and strong once more, no longer weakened by the lax in concentration brought about by fighting. Dante hurried over, worried, still wary and concerned as to this strange new form his student, friend, daughter, had suddenly unlocked. "Are you okay?" His voice was rough, throat hoarse and torn by the high-powered sand of the squall.

"Yeah," Will nodded once, though his eyes spoke of the same fear and apprehension that the auburn felt in his own soul, the fear of the unknown, though it was fear _for_, not the fear _of_ that Loki had once had. "I think so." Again there was that doubt, that worry, the same emotion Dante felt rise in his throat like bile as he looked around and missed that familiar streak of blue, like a piece of heaven had fallen and belonged to him alone.

"Zhalia," The name fell from his lips like a prayer, a hope, a call that he wished with all his might would be answered. As the silence stretched on, as his eyes found no more figures in the sand-mist, he turned back to the pair beside him. "Where's Zhalia?" If his tone came out a little harsher than he meant, then the storm was to blame. Zhalia could take care of herself. It was impossible that she was hurt, absolutely unthinkable. She was an amazing fighter, decisive in battle. There was no way she was gone…. Right?

His heart sunk as both teens shook their heads, Loki's eyes only serving to unsettle him further. He never thought he'd get used to seeing them, as brief as his last encounter with them had been. It was like seeing the eyes of a Titan in the face of a human. Another impossibility.

"I didn't see her after I raised the barrier." Loki's voice was tremulously soft, scared to voice her words in the abnormal silence of her spellweave. "She was on the other side of you, the furthest away…. Otto, too."

Unwilling to believe, three voices rang out in the shield, the trio walking on through the desert, each step taken reluctantly, painfully slow, in case it was taking them further away from their friends, a notion too painful, too raw, to even consider.

* * *

><p>In truth, the missing pair was already far away, taken out of the storm and to safety through use of Otto's wealth of experience, and a bit of luck. An Everfight had healed most of Zhalia's wounds, but it had also drained her energy, and where she'd been hit with that last Augerfrost shot hadn't mended completely before she ran out of juice. Now, lost, alone, and without their supplies, the immense heat and dry, arid air was beginning to get to both of them. They staggered along like a couple of drunks, a straight line an impossible dream as the land swayed and undulated around them like a ship on unruly waves.<p>

As the sun rose higher into the sky, the wavering heat lines that rose from the sand like a thousand glass snakes seemed to part, to form figures and people, and for a moment, Otto was convinced that the mirages of the desert were playing with them. It was only as they got closer that he found the silhouettes to be real, three shapes in all, and with a grin, the African felt his heart and hopes rise. Was the others? Who else would be out in this place, terrible and mysterious, strange to all but him and his people? Laughing delightedly, breathlessly, he lay Zhalia down in the scant shade of a nearby rock, jutting out of the sand, and ran, or rather, stumbled across the sands towards the shapes that became quickly more defined, more _there_, blessedly so, as he neared them.

Falling to his knees as his strength finally gave out, he felt his heart freeze as the sun was blotted out by the lead person, as the face was revealed, not as kind and noble Dante, but as some stranger, his skin as white as death, and his hair as black as an adder's belly. His eyes were snake-like in their indifference to all life but their own, dark and secretive, ancient and _cold_. Even so, in this world of heat and sand, this man may be their only hope…

"Please…" Finally finding his voice, Otto bowed his head, both as a show of respect, and to tear his eyes from those pitch-black, tar-coloured eyes. "Help us…."

"Hmmm." The man seemed to consider the plea for a moment, one hand stroking the mustache that adorned his upper lip as Otto had only seen movie villains do. "Certainly." He purred, at last, eyes narrowing with a flash of morbid pleasure, like a child watching ants squirm under a magnifying glass at noon. "Now," A smile as sharp and as pleasant as a knife cut through his cheeks, the teeth beneath a sickly off-white. "Did you say _us?_"

Behind her rock, Zhalia felt her stomach plummet. The Organization was supposed to believe she was dead, and now, _Rassimov_ was a few metres away, and getting closer by the second. She was wounded, she couldn't run, she had no magic left, no trick up her sleeve… except…. Moving quickly, she pulled the small pack from her shoulder, pulling out various bits and pieces that Dante had tried to convince her were unnecessary, but that she was thanking her more suspicious side for now. A small canvas jacket covered the frost-burn that just curled up from under the neckline of her tank top, sunglasses hid her eyes, and finally, her old friend, the wing of sunset hair, orange and gold and completely different to her usual midnight blue, the same one she had once used to spring a mousy guide from a French jail.

She fit the cream cap on her head to hold it in place just in time, as Rassimov rounded the corner, obviously expecting a Huntik team member. She could see the disappointment carefully hidden in the obsidian depths of his eyes, the slight hesitation in his stride as he stared down at her, the pause as he registered yet another failure. Inwardly, she gave a sigh of relief. She had fooled him.

For now, at least.

* * *

><p>Far away across the dunes, after many miles following the setting sun, the others were finally reaching the end of their last reserves, exhausted and hopeless, filled with tiredness and despair. Finally, Loki stumbled, falling onto her hands and knees, lips cracked from the heat, and a worrisome colour to her cheeks. Will knelt beside her quickly, worried, a thousand terrible consequences of using whatever power it was that allowed her to change springing into his mind like demons of his own creation. He had heard once, long ago, of powers that were fed by human life, and ever since his friend's miraculous transformation, the whispers had not left his mind. Before he could even open his mouth to speak, the blonde had held up a hand.<p>

"I'm fine." Her voice was as soft as the breath of a ghost, barely there. "I just used a little too much power with the storm-shield. I just need a little rest…" Her azure eyes moved to meet Dante's, cautious and apologetic. "I'm sorry. I know we need to keep going…"

The auburn sighed gently, feeling his own fatigue make itself known once more, and shook his head. "It's okay… We should rest, for now. We'll need to be ready if those suits show up again." The teens nodded, and Will helped Loki to her feet as they headed for a small outcropping of rocks, and a welcome patch of deep, cool shade.

As she quietly lent against the brunet, Cherit slipping out of his bag and wandering around the large rock they were sat against, the blonde tilted her head to watch her mentor as he sat facing out across the sands, eyes dark and distant, ever moving, scanning the horizon. "We'll find them. They're okay- probably better than us, really. Zhalia's a great fighter, and she's got Otto with her. No one knows the desert like he does. If they can't find us, they'll most likely just head back to the village and wait for us to come back." He smiled softly back at her, grateful for her kindness, for her insight into the depths of his sun-golden eyes, but nothing she said could lessen the darkness that was overtaking his heart. He was worried, pure and simple, and purely, simply driven mad by it. Zhalia was _not here_, and that meant she could be anywhere, in any kind of danger, and he _wasn't there_ to help her if she needed him. Still, there was comfort in the quiet and hesitant hand that was laid just next to his, a silent reassurance of security, one he had long thought lost, the comfort gifted by a comrade, a partner, a teammate, a loved one, a friend, a daughter. He smiled, and allowed himself to dose, soothed somewhat by the gesture of the teen by his side.

* * *

><p>As the sun carried on its journey towards the horizon, the team fell into a state of half-asleep, half listening desperately for some sign of life, any life, some signal that their friends and teammates were out there. It was a creaking, ancient voice that stirred Dante some time later, a soft <em>'huh'<em> of bemused bewilderment, puzzled and uncertain. "How odd."

The auburn blinked, bleary-eyed for a moment, before tilting his head to look at the miniature creature sprawled on his back a few paces away, arms tucked under his head, grey eyes shining. "Cherit, don't tell me… You've been here before?"

The Titan hummed with a shrug of his shoulders. "I can't say for sur-_ah!_" With a little cry of excitement, he leapt to his feet, pattering across the ground, around the rocks, and out of sight. Waking the others with a sigh, the amber-orbed Seeker shook his head with a quirk of a smile just tugging at his lips. It would seem their luck was turning around.

Following the mini-Titan, they found him crowing and calling from the top of some obviously man-hewn steps leading up a cliff-face, dancing and twirling before finally shooting into the air for a victory spin. "A burial marker! This way, this way!"

Reaching the top first, Loki shielded her eyes with a gasp of surprise and joy, eyes flying with in awe and wonder. A large obelisk rose out of the sands in front of them, the base covered from years amid the elements, and just beyond its tip, in the distance, was a large statue, made entirely from what seemed to be gold, of a snake coiled up with its head reared, though the blonde couldn't help but notice that it seemed more like a cobra, with its wide neck frills. It stood almost as tall as the pillar beside them, a true testament to the wealth and power of the one buried within, be it Sheba, or Solomon, or even both. "The Golden Asp. You found it, Cherit! That's wonderful!" She opened her arms to accept a flying hug with a delighted laugh, tiredness forgotten. "You're the man! Well, the Titan…" Turning to face the others, she met Will's small, but pleased smile with a megawatt version of her own, beaming and brilliant, before all three turned west across the sands, and towards the statue towering mightily, grasping in vain for the sun that outshone its splendour.

* * *

><p>It seemed to take forever to finally reach the Asp, as if the desert was determined to protect its secrets until the very end. Standing at the base, Loki traced one gilded scale with a reverent hand, marvelling at the structure. "This is one serious serpent." She whistled softly in appreciation.<p>

"Yeah." Will clasped her shoulder with one hand, eyes scanning the statue for any hidden clues. "We made it… But," He looked down and away, his eyes avoiding his leader with cautious care. "Without Zhalia, or Otto."

Dante, soothed by Loki's words of before, merely shook his head, though he could not banish the whispers of his heart that told him to abandon his mission and scour the desert once more for the missing members of his team, and the missing member of his family. "They'll come back. Zhalia can handle herself." The sky-eyed teen met his eyes with an encouraging smile, conscious of his feelings for the blue-haired Seeker, before placing her hands on her hips and tipping her head back to inspect the full length of the snake before them.

"Well, first things first." She grinned, interlocking her fingers and stretching her arms out in front of her, her smile growing by the moment, mischievous and bright. "We need to get inside, and somehow, I don't think we just go up and knock." She flicked a finger towards the door, which was solid stone, and without handle or ornament. "Maybe the old stories are the key? There's certainly nothing in the journal. Dad only mentions this area as a resting place of a Legendary Titan- with no Amulet of Will, there was no reason for him to come here."

Will sighed, running a hand through his hair as he thought. "Well," He coaxed his friend with a quiet recognition of her superior knowledge. "What do we know about the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon?"

Loki grinned. "Well, I know that to open the door, all they did was press the eye of the serpent!" She chirped brightly, a soft green light blossoming in her hand. "I'll go take a look, shall I? Cherit, come lend me a hand!" Laughing, and leaving them below with their frustration and acceptance, the blonde summoned Kipperin to give her a lift up to the 'face' of the Asp, knowing better than to invoke her own wings just for this. It was first time since regaining her 'soul' that she had called upon her green butterfly-like friend, and he was crowing with smug haughtiness, telling her he had known all along, had seen it in her heart. She quietened him with a few words, worry blooming in her heart.

Had he known what she was? What she _is?_ Her Titans had always known her heart, but had they been able to see the taint of her blood? Lindorm had known her, had called her by that name, the one foretold. But even so… She didn't know what she was, not really… Was she truly human, or-?

Her thoughts were cast aside by an inquisitive call from Cherit, and the pair stopped to hover in front of the eyes, inspecting each in turn. "In pretty much every civilization and culture I can think of," She murmured to herself. "Left is always bad, and right is always good… Or at least, better than left." Nodding, the Titan at her side flew forwards to hesitate in front of the shimmering ruby of the right eye, which was at least twice his side, before pressing his hand to the surface. Instantly, he was repelled by crimson light, the earth began to rumble and shake ominously. Fearing trouble, Loki swiftly landed by her teammates, calling Kipperin back to save her strength in case she should need it.

An immense spiritual pressure washed over them, casting strange shadows across Will's eyes, as his Casterwill sense followed a stream of energy from the serpent to the trio of statues, colossi, seated on their haunches around the base. As one, they rose and stood, turning to face the intruders of their slumber, their bodies made of wood and straw and painted faces and masks, dressed in leathers and fur. Loki knew them immediately, eyes and mouth wide.

"The Idols of Solomon." She whispered, backing up to form a protective triangle with the others. Her low voice warned them of the legends now standing in the flesh before them. "The three gods that Solomon brought into his kingdom when he lost faith in God, and decided to choose his own. Ashtoreth the Grove," She gestured to the female one in red, with green paint smeared on her breastplate to look like a tree, and she moved with the elegance and grace of a willow in the wind. "Milcom the Blood-Fire," This one was the yellow-skinned, thin man with an abnormally elongated silver head, red paint like life-water forming a primal fire on the bare skin of his left pectoral, his eyes black, and within them it was almost as if you could see faces, the faces of a million children, all sacrificed to the flames by ignorant ones desiring more than they had. "And Chemosh the Subduer." The final Idol was low and hunched, with snarling tusks and a boar-like aura, slow and strong.

Together, they moved in for the kill.

* * *

><p>Closer than the team probably would have liked, a suit with a pair of binocular was scanning the sand for something, anything, that stood out to give to the man by his side. To the discerning eye, the rigidity of the man's back said a superior, the shaking of his hands a high rank, but the absolute, unwavering, abject <em>terror<em> in the long-haired Organization operative's eyes said that it was none other than the Professor, face gleaming with sweat in the oppressive heat, that was waiting for results.

"I'm sorry, sir." He was forced to finally, quietly admit. "There's nothing."

To his immense surprise, the old ma just grunted, and turned on his heel to walk, or rather, waddle back towards the other suits, Rassimov, and their two captives- Zhalia, still in disguise, and Otto, who was shaking with fear. "No matter. We've stumbled across a couple of capable guides." His hoarse, coarse voice was more like the croak of a toad than anything else, but under that tone lay a core of ice and steel, endlessly dark and cruel, like the subtle purr of an engine underneath the roar of the road and machine. The leader of the Organization paused as he paced in front of the two knelt on the ground. His sightless eye peered down at them, milky, dead and white. "You _are_ guides, aren't you? Working for the Huntik Foundation before your _unfortunate _separation." His attitude said that yes was the only answer that would ensure their survival.

Seemingly unable to read the air, Otto shook his head quickly and continually. "No, no," His tremulous, shaking voice convinced no one. "We don't know this Dante Vale." Beside him, Zhalia had to stop herself from beating her head against the ground repeatedly. Rookie mistake. Keep lies simple, otherwise, you slip up, as the African man had just so spectacularly done.

"Odd," The Professor's smirk slid over his face like oil over water, not really at one with the rest of his visage- the old scar, the fat that flowed over him and made him shapeless, was not at ease with such a sharp and malicious leer. "I don't remember mentioning his name." Realising his error, the coffee-coloured man bowed his head in shame, quivering more than ever.

Pacing again, the half-blind man seemed to be considering something, before he stopped in front of them once more, clapping his sausage-like hands together with a considerable amount of terrifying cheer. "I've got an idea." He faced them, holding his left hand out like a king awaiting the kiss of a subject. "Let's make this easier on everyone involved." Without summon or command, rivers of light began to stream out of the ring on his finger, crimson, sunset rose, blood-like, flame-shaded, and a strange white light that was tinged, outlined with red. They reached out, grasping, greedy hands like those of children. They touched Otto's temples, and seemed to sink into his skin. For the briefest of moments before he closed them, Otto's eyes were empty and white, dulled and mindless.

"Professor." The once energetic voice was monotonous, robotic. "I will do your bidding."

Zhalia felt a sickly chill of fear as eyes, one silver and one deepest and darkest black, turned onto her. "And now for you, young lady."

* * *

><p>Away across the golden sea, amber eyes flew wide, counting the shadows and distance between them as screams echoed throughout the empty desert land, familiar and cursed because they were so, the worst and most terrible sound in the world, his fears converted into that one noise, his bones turning to ice, his heart to fire, and he was tearing himself apart, because that was, it could only be.<p>

"_Zhalia."_

* * *

><p>AN: And end of the filler episode! Finally! Now, onwards and upwards, my faithful readers! We're nearing the home stretch now- only four episodes left!<p> 


	75. Chapter 74 To Be Together

AN: Sorry for the wait, readers. Sadly, my dog got rather sick not too long after the last chapter, and I spent this time nursing her and trying to get her better. Unfortunately though, she had to be put down last week. Life hardly seems fair sometimes, does it?

* * *

><p><span>The Seeker Within<span>

Chapter 74- To Be Together Part 1

_Axum Desert, Ethiopia _

The earth shook as if a great and terrible beast was fighting to break free from beneath. Each step was like a meteor striking the ground, the silent advance of the three giants like something from another world. Loki shook her head as she and the others backed away, keeping their eyes fixed on their enemies. "It's amazing that they've managed to stay active for so long." Her voice was low, awe being the very least of their worries at the moment.

Will's eyes, luminous with Casterwill magic, traced the light-rivers that wound through the air, like leashes and collars of some monstrous mutt, leading back to the slitted ruby eyes of the serpent. "They're powered by some sort of energy source from within the Asp's head- the eyes, I think. Gems can often be used as a place to store magic- amulets are a prime example of this- but it still must have been a significant amount left behind to have lasted them for so many years. It'll take a lot to run them down."

The blonde spared him a glance as her hands hovered by the belt-pouch holding her amulets. "So to defeat them, we have to destroy the eyes? But that's our only way inside!"

Dante shook his head, raising his hands, cupping an emerald power in his palms. "We can't afford to lose the Mines. We'll have to attack them head on!" With a steely glint in his eye, the auburn put all his might into the power in his hands- his determination, his worry, and the fear that was chilling his bones, turning him to ice, only the need to protect the others by his side keeping him up. That scream…. He had heard it, clear as day despite the chaos around himself. He _knew_ the voice, though he had never heard the sound come from her lips before. Zhalia. She was in danger, she _needed_ him, and he was trapped here, against a seemingly impossible enemy. He shook his head again, chasing away the doubts that would drain his source of power, his will, and cast the Touchram he had been charging.

Ashtoreth, his target, didn't even take a step back. She merely rocked on her heel mid-stride, before bringing her foot back down, marching inevitably onwards towards him.

There was a shout behind him, distant but there, and it was all the warning Dante had before a strange power- white light, with streaks of black threaded through- was shot at his unsuspecting back. He dove to one side, rolled, and came but beside and between the teens, eyes narrowed. "That was no Titan- someone shot a power at us!"

Turning, it was quickly clear who the guilty party was- a large team of suits was stood atop a crest not too far away, and at their head… "Rassimov," Loki grinned, one of the sharp and deadly kind, all teeth and hatred and malicious intent. For the briefest of moments, however, she almost missed having her 'soul' taken away. At least then, she knew where the rats were hiding. Counting the suits, she wasn't the only one who paused, reckless smile dropping away, eyes wide and filled with confusion. Sharing a look with Will to check she wasn't seeing things, the blonde felt her battle-lust waver and fade, not understanding. "Is that," She eyed the new addition to the Organization team with something akin to horror. "Otto…and Zhalia?! What did they do to them?"

Will's eyes were aglow with Casterwill sight, glaring at the black cloud that seemed to pervade the beings of his friends. It was one he had almost always seen with suits, but had always attributed to their evil ways, the dark nature of their powers… But now, seeing it around Otto's head, and Zhalia's, though hers seemed to be green tinted…. Could it be-? "Mind control." He said finally, definitely, his heart sinking as he realised what it meant. "There's dark magic being used to control them. And the only Seeker I know that could control someone as willed as Zhalia…"

"Don't worry. They've just decided to become loyal to the Organization."

Loki froze, some unknown emotion filling her mind as she heard the rasping, dry voice that came from their side, a trio of figures appearing on another hill to their left. It wasn't fear, though she was afraid of this voice, and it wasn't excitement either, though a part of her had been waiting for this moment ever since that presence had first invaded her mind in Paris all those moons ago. It was… _recognition_? She knew this man, knew his heart as well as he knew her own, had, for the briefest of moments, been bonded and joined with his mind, twisted as part of his soul, like the two had been braided together, woven and sewn as one being. It was something deeper than knowing face, name, _person_. It was to know them, truly and completely, to _be them_. And this man was nothing but evil.

"_You._" Her voice was unrecognisable, a hiss, a snarl, animalistic and low. There was a trembling in her veins, like her bones and blood had turned to fire, and she knew without even needing to look behind her to know that she had changed, that wings of light that cast back shadow had risen behind her, knew from the strange, wavering way the world now looked that her eyes were solid blue, her hair white-gold. There was a new weight in her hand, a blade of mist and magic, but she didn't want it there, didn't need it. She wanted to tear this man limb from limb with her own hands for what he had done to her. He had taken the deepest, most private parts of her own being, her mind and her heart, he had taken her _soul_ and he had torn it open. He had made a door for a door-less place, a key for a sealed vault with no lock, and he had given that which only she should have been able to give away, that she didn't even know if she had ever wanted to give away, to so many others. They flashed before her eyes now, like memories of dreams, far away and distant, but his presence made them stronger, brought them back, all the horror and the terror of not even being alone _within yourself_.

* * *

><p><em>Tearing through her, searching for something, but unable to find it, a presence of grey and black. In anger, he took her throat in his hands and <em>squeezed_. It was only by Dante's intervention that she survived it, that first time._

_Darkness, tinged with red. An ocean of blood, drowning in copper and iron. This man was not Him, but His minion, there to force her to submit. She had sworn to herself then that she would win, and return to her friends, because they were so much better than this place, locked inside her own self. A voice commanding her to obey, and her rejection as it vanished away. _

_Blue as grief, purple as sorrow. A pressure around her, like a snake crushing its prey. Being forced to her knees by the screaming in her head, another new voice, another crony, but at least it wasn't His voice, but a ringing like a storm, building in a mighty crescendo till it too disappeared._

_A wave of darkness, night incarnate and as pitch black as a nightmare, rushing towards her. Him. The presence she knew. The light of her mist and fire drove it back, broke her shackles, set her free from her mind, but for a moment, she had almost lost herself within that Dark, as again that He searched for something that He could not, would not find._

_Green sickness, a mind twisted with horror and despair and madness. His grip on her was firm, yet lax, like the rigor mortis of a corpse- stiff bones, and soft, rotting flesh, slimy and repulsive. _

_And so many times, that grey blurring at the edges of her mind, grey like death-skin, like nothingness, like the void. This one, this not-really-a-man had never tried to overwhelm her final sanctuary, had never had the strength of will to fight past his fear of a creature such as her. He-who-ruled-with-fear had simply used it to track her, find her, never really understanding the duality of the link, that she could sense him in return._

* * *

><p>These were the ones He had set upon her, like dogs on a fox, all to wear her down from within, to make her wish for servitude to end the suffering.<p>

This man was a _monster_.

With a cry of rage, she flung herself at him with a downward stroke of her wings, sword drawn back to cut him down. Behind her, she could hear the alarm of her friends, but she tuned it out, that part of her that was Human, because right here, right now, because of what He had done to her, she too was nothing more than a Monster, made of anger and hatred, a broken mess of shards that cut at her hands even as she tried to hold herself together. Expecting her fury, a strange red barrier rose around Him and his minions, meeting her sword like a blade of his own, before a blast broke it from within and sent her flying, wingless and herself once more, to land among her fellows. Will rushed to her side, helping her up with eyes that screamed concern and worry.

"Loki, is that…?" He trailed off, unable to ask, unable to even consider the terrible possibility that the one man Loki would hate, could loathe with all her being, was _here_, had left the safety of Organization headquarters to hunt them down personally, the huntsman atop his horse finally following the pack of dogs after his quarry.

"Yeah," The blonde stood, calm and steady again, pushing away the surprise and shock of finally seeing Him with her eyes, not her mind. "That's him. The Professor." Her teammates took in a sharp breath of shock, eyes wide and fixed on the figure of the old, overweight man in the cream suit and white scarf, the silver scar running through his blind, right eye, the smug way he held himself, as if sure of victory and of his power.

"Oh, didn't think I'd take a personal interest?" The Professor smirked down at them like a god from on high, divine justice in his right hand, and the flames of hell in his left. "You see, I've grown tired of playing these childish games with you, Loki Lambert. We both know what you are, and we both know what I want. And," He bared his teeth in a grimace of a smile. "We both know I always get what I want, one way or another."

To her immense surprise, as she opened her mouth to reply, Loki found Will step in front of her, as if to shield her from the Professor's gaze, eyes blazing with rage. "You should also know that you'd die before you so much as laid a finger on Loki again." The brunet raised a hand, power gathering about his fist, a threat and a promise all in one. The Professor narrowed his eyes in return, both challenging him, and knowing better than to dismiss the might of a Casterwill.

"Well now, I'll just have to try, won't I?" With a wave of his hand, the old man ordered his suits to attack, each stepping forwards with a spell charging in their hands. Dante gathered his students close to him, pushing them back in withdrawal.

"We'll have to retreat for now." He murmured to them in a low voice, keeping his mouth movements to a minimum, ignoring the teens as they reacted with dismay and disagreement. He hushed them quietly, eyes fixed on the woman with the long, sunset-coloured hair standing amid the enemy atop the rise before them. "Just wait for the distraction."

Will glanced over, confusion in his eyes. "Distraction?"

Before he could even ask what his mentor meant, the hidden signal had been received, Zhalia having waved her hand imperceptibly to all but Dante when she and the other suits had shown themselves. Knowing the currently-auburn was alright, the two had soundlessly made their plan, their minds working in tandem without need for discussion or consultation. Leaping over the heads of the suits with a flourish and a flip, the bluenette moved into action, landing neatly before them with her hands raised to the sky. Even as Rassimov cast a Darkwave to stop her, she shone with a blinding light, throwing his aim off so he instead struck the closest colossi, Ashtoreth. Winds raged around them as the light grew brighter and brighter, more so than the sun in the desert sky, than stars and moons and all things of light and beauty, blinding all who looked upon it as its creator struck down a number of suits, before both disappeared with an almighty _'crash'_, revealing that the Huntik team had vanished as well, using the light as cover to flee to safety.

As the suits regrouped, a few groaning and rubbing the backs of their heads Rassimov stared at the spot where the female captive had been standing, eyes narrowed in thought. "Could that have been… The Thoughtspectre power?" He narrowed his eyes. The immortal had spent many a year searching for the runic inscription for the magic, and now it just turns up in the hands of the enemy. The fates were speaking, and they were speaking ill.

And as the colossi turned their eyes towards the new light, as the red Grove Warden pressed her hands in prayer, as crimson magic rolled towards them across the ground like a sea of blood, he began to think he was right. He raised his hands, gathering dark magic around himself, the impossibility of magics lost centuries ago, of black light, but a word from the Professor made it vanish of the still desert air.

"Why destroy them," His gravelly voice seemed at home in this place, this monument to Death and its power. "When we can use them?"

* * *

><p>Far enough away that each felt safe in themselves once more, the newly reunited team were hiding behind a low outcropping, relieved smiles all around, their happiness tempered by both the news that their enemy was now ahead of them in the race for the prize, and by the fact that Otto was still under the Professor's thrall, with no way to release him unless Will got time to use his Casterwill spells. Rubbing her shoulder where she had jarred it crash-landing, after attacking the old man with the silver eye, Loki was the first to let out a long breath, the distance between her and <em>that man<em> gifting her logic and reason once more, freeing her from her rage. "Did you _see_ the looks on their faces?" She crowed, bright blue eyes gleaming with mirth and glee.

Cherit circled overhead before landing cautiously on the scree above their heads, cackling with delight even as he hid himself amongst the shadows and crags of the rock, his white fur now a light amber with the dust and sand. "Nope! I was too busy hightailing it out of there!" He flicked his long, plume-ended limb for emphasis.

On the blonde's other side, Will was leaning with his hands on his hips, taking a deep breath as he refilled his aching lungs. "Zhalia," The noise he made was half gasp, half laugh, breathless with joy. "Did you just _sucker punch_ the Professor?" Beside him, the younger teen immediately turned to the currently-orange haired woman, filled with wonder and awe, singing the Seeker's praises, with shining eyes. Dante shushed her before she got too excited, briefly wondering how the blonde had managed to keep such energy and hyperactivity, after all she had seen, like some bizarre kind of puppy.

Quietly, almost worried as to the answer, he voiced the question that was most on their mind. "How did you manage to resist the Professor's mind control?"

She looked away, hiding shame and guilt in her deep, chocolate eyes. "To be honest, I almost lost it…"

* * *

><p>"<em>There is nothing to fear," His voice slid over her in waves of power, like oil over water, coating everything and marring it, the world before her eyes changing colour- first truth, the sands of gold, like Dante's eyes, the eyes she loved so much, so deeply, then green as magic, Casterwill green, bright and vibrant, but also dark and deep, both light and dark entwined together, before finally, waves of midnight eve washed over her, not the noble amethyst of royalty, nor the sweet mauve-tinted black of berries, ripe and syrupy, but a purple so rich and dark it was like velvet being pulled in front of her eyes, blinding her and shaping the world around her into a fantasy. "Only service to the Organization awaits you." The shining people beside her, especially the short, stout figure in front, suddenly seemed like friends, her guardians against this tempest of purple. With a shake of her head, she searched among the dark for that thread of green, using it to find her way home to the light, the gold, the amber of truth and right and <em>Dante, _the tawny shade of home._

_She pulled her arms from the grips of the suits holding her steady before the Professor's power, falling to one knee and bowing her head in humility and respect. "I have heard so often of your overwhelming powers…"_

_Rassimov's black eyes bored into her, deep and searching, seeking a tear in her perfect façade, an answer to what she was- enemy, or ally. "Who are you?" He asked at last, his voice more of a snarl, animalistic and low, than human._

_She dared to raise her head and meet his eye, keeping her face impassive, calm, like she had nothing to hide. "My name is Venseta Que." She closed her eyes as she bowed her head again, hiding the guilt and sorrow in her earthen eyes. "And I am a loyal undercover agent of the Organization."_

* * *

><p>The midnight-haired woman sighed, running a hand through her hair as she packed away the wig, freeing them from the confines of the cloth and disguise. "Like all the best lies… It was partly truth." As Will spoke up, she turned to him hesitantly, almost expecting him to be glaring at her like he used to in the old days, anticipating anger and hatred, loathing, betrayal. To her endless surprise, he looked more amused than anything else.<p>

"Wait, so, let me get this straight." He waved a hand as he thought, mirth in his eyes and the catch of his voice. "Does this mean that you turned us over to the Organization…_again?_" Unable to go hold it back anymore, he and Loki burst out laughing, tears in their eyes, and coffee-coloured eyes watched them both in amazement. "God, is that your go-to plan for everything?"

Dante sighed, a crooked grin at the corners of his lips. "The Professor would have found us through Otto, anyway, whether she told him or not." The teens nodded thoughtfully, calming themselves as they grinned, glad everyone was reunited, Will turning to face Zhalia, the peaceful smile on his face showing that he had meant no harm by his comments. Emerald eyes met mocha, and bluenette let out a sigh, seeing no ire, not even in their deepest, darkest forest depths.

It struck her suddenly, how much Will had been changed by being with them, how each of them had changed. Her isolation had been shattered, her true self allowed to blossom and flourish under the warmth of their love. Dante had opened up some, had realised that being human wasn't a weakness, nor a flaw, that it was okay not to be strong, because there were others to take up the burden and mantle in his stead. Loki had learned so much about herself, inner strength and magical abilities both, had lit a fire in each of their hearts and kept it burning through pure _goodness_, but she also now possessed a certain steel in her eye, her bones, that said she was no longer as innocent and naïve as she appeared. And the Casterwill, stubborn, wilful, had discovered what it meant to have friends, to be a person and not a machine driven by the demands and dreams of others. He had found the way in which books were truthful and how they lied about truth, about reality. He had loosened up considerably, learnt to let go, to be normal, or as normal as someone in their line of work could be. It seemed, in short, that each had come to the others with walls that they both knew and did not know existed, and silently begged for them to be destroyed, and with the fire of love and the strength of devotion, those walls had been torn down. It had not been without shrapnel, without debris. Much had been lost even as they had gained- her grandfather's face flickered briefly in her mind- but could any of them say that the price, the toll, had not gifted them something far greater? Zhalia didn't think so, and she felt it in her heart that none of her friends- _friends_, her heart still exalted at the word- regretted it either.

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><p>Deep in the bowels of the earth, deep within the tomb where living creatures dared not tread for centuries, deep beneath the artificial paradise of the world above, in the dark and the cool, damp air of the underground, the Professor was at the head of his team, leading them down into the bleak and dead mines. Rassimov's outstretched hand was meant as a silent warning, but when the master ignored his dog, he spoke up, his low and rasping voice at home among the blackness. "Careful sir," One dead eye moved to regard him slowly. "This is a likely place for traps."<p>

The Professor merely snarled, as if the idea that a trap could ensnare him was more insulting and ridiculous then befitted a coherent answer. "I don't have time for such nonsense." He raised a pair of amulets, the pendants almost engulfed by his sausage-like fingers, glowing a sickly red that seemed tinted with dirt. "Serve me, Trapfeaster! Goblin Brownie!" The first of his Titans was large and squat, like a dog-sized beetle, covered with dark green-brown fur. Two massive ruby eyes filled its 'face', and its underbelly and sides were coated with a million chomping, chewing, crashing mouths, millions of sharp and shining teeth glinting in the torch light as it scuttled down the stairs. The latter Titan was a diminutive, child-like figure, with large, soulful yellow eyes, twitching elven ears as elongated as a rabbit's, and skin of the same emerald colour as the gem of his amulet. He wore a cacophony of strange garments, each in varying shades of green, and each hand clasped a twisted flagpole, with pennants fluttering and whisking this way and that.

No sooner than they had been called, Trapfeaster placed one of his six feet upon a step that flared a fiery crimson, lighting up his many faces from beneath. Arrows fired randomly from every angle, but each met its demise in the endless gullet of the beast below, who devoured them with the ease of a practiced sword-swallower. Before the rest of the suits and their masters could relax, however, as if to spite them, the stair case began to slope, to meld and join into a ramp that led down to god only knows where. Hearing the alarm of his Seeker, Goblin Brownie danced quickly up to the steps that remained, fishing a miniature stake from his belt-pouch and stabbing it into the junction between two fusing steps. The crack between them was filled with light, and the staircase quickly renewed itself, stable once more. With a _'huh_', and a sly glance back towards his minions, the Professor walked onwards with confidence and pride. "Just like old times." He rumbled, smirking as he descended lower into the tomb, the resting place of love and death alike.

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><p>It was the shaking of the ground that Loki noticed first, sapphire eyes narrowed against the blinding light of the low and setting sun and quickly scanning the horizon for the source. "We've been followed." Quietly, she stood, stepping around their outcropping to face the trio of smudges on the skyline.<p>

As the others noticed her sudden stillness, the tenseness of her stance, they too prepared themselves for chaos and battle, following her gaze to the curve of the earth. What at first looked like mountains quickly became advancing figures, monstrous in their size and terrible in their power, the three mighty idols that cast defiance in the face of god. Zhalia shook her head in bewilderment even as she readied her magic. "Why would guardian Titans leave the place they're guarding?" She muttered lowly, unwilling to break the calm before the storm.

"They wouldn't." Dante answered quietly, feeling that same foreboding as she, their hearts' beat at the same pace and rhythm. "Not unless the Professor was controlling them."

"Then we fight. If the Professor has diverted Solomon's Idols, then he's got free access to the Mines. We need to get past here, fast." The blonde at his other side nodded once, eyes dark and cold, like sapphires set into the face of Galatea, bringing the glimmering light of the ocean's shallows about her like a cloak with a wave of her hand and the call of a friend's name. "Lindorm! Tear them apart!"

With a roar that promised pain to all whom dared tread across the bear-dragon's path, the emerald-eyed Titan appeared in a burst of Aegean blue-green, streaking across the sands in a tumbling saw-blade. Seeing Milcom bringing down his unstrung bow upon his Seeker, the child-like innocence of her face drawing in the one to whom countless babes had been sacrificed in fire and blood, he charged, rolling straight up the colossi's strange, elongated face, knocking his strike off balance and giving the blonde a much needed moment to retreat to a safer distance. Her cry of warning as her gaze turned back to him came a moment too late, and as he span about the back of the giant's head to curve around with the bend of his shoulder, Lindorm was smote by a fist the size of a small car, and sent flying through the air to regain control just in time to curl beside and behind the girl-child that he called Master.

"Take flight, Icarus!" A shout came to their left, the sky-blue aura quickly taking form as the avian Grecian, who beat his wings twice and gathered light between his feathers, firing shining arrows of soul-summoned gold at the Grove, Ashtoreth, but found instead that the willow-woman drew the magic within her own, her protective Warden abilities revealing themselves.

The Subduer, Chemosh, was currently playing whack-a-mole with the Hyperstriding Dante, who was darting every which way to try and buy himself enough valuable time to summon help from the netherealm of the Titans. Taking his chance when Zhalia distracted the Titan with a shot to the eyes, he raised the familiar blue-and-grey amulet to the sky, shining blue as briefly as a shooting star streaks across the sky, before Caliban appeared at his Seeker's side, ready to fight.

Dashing forwards to draw the Titan's gaze towards him again, the lion-eyed man turned in time to see Caliban leap into the air, his spear-glaive drawn back to plunge into the boar-man's back. "They're a lot weaker now that they're far from the mines that power them!" In an instant, he wished he could swallow his words, as Caliban's blade gave a scant, glancing blow, and the Aztec himself was flung far away by a single punch.

"You call this weaker?!" Zhalia exclaimed, taking a strong-based casting stance, drawing on all of her power as she steadied herself on one knee. The vibrant, ill green light rose in her hands, bubbling like sickness in skin before leaping forwards like flame and poison from the fangs of some ancient serpent. "Venomhand!" The spell was swatted aside like a fly, its Seeker the same, caught off her guard, having time only to curse the gift of getting used to having others watching her back before she struck the ground and felt her breath driven from her by the landing. As Chemosh's hand sought to destroy her will, and life, falling towards her like a guillotine's reflective blade, the mirror door between this world and whichever lies beyond, Zhalia fought to take in breath to run.

A panicked yell, reminiscent of a lion's roar, a trumpet's challenging, brassy note, shattered the silence she had gathered about her in the moment of her demise, a bright, hopeful blue filling the space between her and death, a flash of burning gold, autumn auburn, and Dante was there, standing before her, his arms stretched wide to shield her from the blow, no time to even cast a spell to save them.

Time seemed to slow as the hand descended, each heartbeat seeming as such an eternity that Zhalia struggled to battle through the syrupy second, wondered why Dante didn't flee, didn't fight, didn't _move_, hear a drawn-out cry, high and pure with fear, their names, together and as one, as they always would be, because this was the end now, of this she was sure.

There was no escape from fate.

And then suddenly, as if the world that was holding its breath gasped inwards and continued living, time speeding up and flowing once more, a glint of metal spinning through the air to bite viciously at the shoulder of their executioner, the hand withdrawing, eyes pulled away as the tusk-lined mouth opened in a deep and raucous bellow that screamed defiance to the one who sought to keep it from claiming the lives it saw as his to vanish like candles in the storm.

Eyes wide and disbelieving as life, that stubborn and arrogant spark, flared into a blaze once more, defeat driven back with the monster before them, the pair turned to meet steely eyes, alight with mischief. A quiet smirk tilted the lips almost hidden by the greying beard, light casting strange shadows from the gold ring in his left ear.

"We've really got to stop meeting like this."

It was Montehue, the robust man bizarrely out of place in the scorching desert, the ginger Irishman Tersly huddling nervously by his side as always. With a cheer from across the battlefield, Loki raised a fist into the air in greeting.

"Ní fhaca mé le fada thú, Tersly!" Loki called, eyes alight with battle-frenzy and joy. "Long time no see!" Will sighed, a crooked smile on his face as he paused beside the blonde, who met his look with a shrug and a beam. As expected, her accent had made a spectacular return.

Striding over to the trio of gigantic beings, the iron-eyed man shone first with the forest, then with the eve-sky, as both Tolivane and Fenris appearing the material realm- the mole with the face of a basset hound, rascal and trickster, and the snarling man-wolf, all snapping jaws and gleaming fangs. Beside them, a smaller glow erupted skywards into the shape of the scythe-handed, scorpion-tailed goblin, Venadek.

As Dante helped Zhalia to her feet, creating safe walls around her with his arms, and as Tersly ran and hid somewhere, lending his strength through the form of his Titan, Ashtoreth turned, drawn by the light of the summoning magic, and from her great distance away from her new target, punched the air, sending a beam of lilac energy from the tips of her knuckles. Catching sight of the spark from the corner of his eye, Montehue quickly cast out a hand, calling for his defensive Titan, Tolivane, whose thick hide and sloping features granted him great shielding powers. Falling to one knee as her blast ran dry, the mournful face of her mask seemed to flicker into fear as she noticed the humans and Titans alike amassing around her, ready to fight.

Also seeing his companion's predicament, Milcom raced to reach her side first, his long strides eating away at the ground. Caliban's fiery eyes seemed to flare bright with mirth as he span the long dual-bladed glaive he had chosen to bring with him from the Spirit Realms, sending it spinning, boomerang-like, to clip the mighty Blood-Fire's heels, sending him crashing to the earth with a sound like a mountain falling, rocks and boulders crashing and tumbling to the dirt.

Followed closely by Icarus and Venadek, the teens sprinted to where he lay, hands entwined to steady themselves on the ever-shifting sands, summoning orange and red and gold to burning in their eyes and in the cusps of their hands. "Raypulse!" As one, their spells tangled, twisting together into one great fireball, streaked through with green and blue as the Grecian and goblin mixed their magic into the fray.

Finally standing on her own once more, though Dante lingered worriedly by her side, Zhalia shot the auburn a sly smile. "I'm not going to let you guys show me up." Raising a hand insolently to the sky, she shimmered berry-deep, the tempting shade of sweetness and incredible power. "Put them in their place, King Basilisk!" The serpent lord rose swiftly into the still desert sky, the beating of his vast wings casting sand away on errant currents in the air, small eddies and vortexes spiralling in the shadow of his might. With a downwards stroke, he drove himself towards the final Collosi, the oppressor Chemosh, latching onto his shoulders and snapping and clawing at his face, his tail lashing ferociously, the spike at its tip slicing and slashing at the boar-man's sides.

Using the distraction of the snake-king's attack, their similar minds working in tandem as a reflection and a figure, Montehue and Dante rushed the yellow Titan, their paths curving to meet in a central charge, each step in sync, each heartbeat and breath in unison, two brothers in battle, and battle alone, focused on a single goal. "Let's get up close and personal!" The grey-haired Seeker glanced down at the younger man, nodding his agreement, and the two leapt upwards in a surge of blue, gold dancing around their hands as they again invoked as one the same magic they had once wielded together in Iceland, at their last meeting. "Dragonfist!" They fell upon the unguarded back of their gigantic opponent, their blows paralysing the creature for the flickering eye-blink second that King Basilisk needed to fling himself back, whip his tail around, and scythe through the Subduer's chest, destroying him, and returning his essence to wherever Solomon's amulets now lay.

Following their example, working together, Venadek and Caliban leapt towards the azure sky, and fell to the dusty earth, blade-hands and glaive raised to plunge into Milcom's unsuspecting back as he began to rise after the onslaught of the teens' magics. He too vanished, the gold of his light near invisible against the sands of the desert.

Sharing a quick smile, a glint of teeth, the wolfish grin of a warrior on the battlefield, with Loki, Will let out a low breath, his worry abating as the tides turned, as his Sight saw the fading of the magical 'leash' that fuelled Ashtoreth. "She's almost out." He murmured to his blonde friend, and he knew without having to say that she understood him. The Casterwill raised his hands, power gathering in his palms, but a gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"I've got this." There was an idea in her eyes, brilliant and wicked and crazy, but true and sure in its certainty. Nodding, feeling a smile grow on his face in the light of her enthusiasm and determination. He remembered, as if the shadow of a dream, when Loki had first seen Titans, suits, magic. Her face, those wonderful eyes, were clouded and filled with fear, despair, weakness. That was all gone now. Like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar's cocoon, she had emerged from the darkness and the fire, her steel tempered into a weapon that he knew Eathon would be proud of, that he was proud of, that he felt blessed to have witnessed. Trusting her strength, her soul, the beauty of her blade and the magnificence of her magic, feeling again that urge to watch her fight, to admire her skill and transformation, Will nodded, stepping back to dip into a courtly bow, one arm ushering her forwards with a flourish befitting the queen his heart believed her to be.

"Ashtoreth's all yours then, Loki."

Taking advantage of the Colossi's distraction as her ruby eyes fell upon Tolivane once more, her rage rising like a mist, ordering her to give her all into trying to blast the aggravatingly durable mole-like creature, her pride commanding that she destroy the one who had shamed her, Loki turned on a heel, the wall of fur, fang and claw at her back flowing with her, fluid and sinuous, the pair charging as one for the willow-woman's unprotected back. Locking gazes with Lindorm for the briefest of moments, savage and stormy sea meeting peaceful summer sky, the Seeker nodded, leaping upwards and feeling overly large paws snatch her gently from the air. Nestled in her Titan's paws, tucked against the surprisingly soft fur of his stomach, as he surged forwards like the surf of a wave, over and over and over in his signature Rolling Charge, she summoned the mist-fire to her hand, almost frightened with how quickly she was learning to control and adapt to this strange and beautiful magic.

Will watched with wide eyes, and an even wider smile as Lindorm threw himself against the red Titan, using her back like a ramp to launch himself into the air, shredding as he went, unfurling at the pinnacle of his flight, sending Loki rocketing upwards, flung skywards by her bear-dragon like the stone in a slingshot, released at the tip of his spin.

"Fenris_, now!_" She shouted, eyes ablaze with blue-grey fire, wings holding her aloft for the heart-breath moment that the wolf needed to race forwards, hurling himself at the Grove Warden as she fell to her knees, magic dying on her hands as Tolivane's protective skin won out once more in their battle of will and strength. Landing squarely between her shoulder blades, using the momentum of her fall to force her down, keeping his weight on her head to prevent her rising, the son of giant and god raised his muzzle to the scorching sun and howled, long and victorious, a signal akin to the baying of the huntsman's trumpet and hound.

With a fey and wild smile that sliced through her face like a knife, recklessness and elation raging in her eyes, the angelic figure threw out her hands, one to each side, and the sunlight suddenly caught and glinted off swords of mist, there-but-not. Reaching one hand towards the sky, the other towards the earth, she folded in her wings and allowed herself to fall, flipping end over end in a circling of magic and mist, reminiscent of the charge of Lindorm, a ring of blue, a flash of white-gold, burning and slicing through the air.

Like a bolt from above, divine retribution of the god that they had drawn the people of Solomon away from, she fell as a star, carving through the back of the fallen Warden, who erupted into light and dust. As it cleared, she rose from the knee she had landed on, the wings on her back crumbling and shattering, the petals of light drifting away and disappearing on a non-existent wind, and as her hands slackened around the swords in her grip, they too dissolved into fireflies and fragments that faded like the night at dawn. For a moment, surrounded by this peaceful, quiet maelstrom, she turned to watch her magic disappear, the mystic bled-out blue of her inhuman eyes streaming out to vanish alongside its brethren, like the tail flowing from a comet.

Almost cautiously, Will approached the blonde, his footsteps silent save for the hiss of the moving sand. Silently, the pair turned their eyes skyward, following the trails of light as they melted away into the blue of the sky. Suddenly, the azure-eyed girl tilted her head to one side, a crooked grin curving up the corners of her lips. "Well?" She raised an eyebrow, and gained a similar smile and eyebrow in return.

"Okay, I'll admit," He hesitated as he felt her hand brush next to his, infinitesimally close, but infinitely far away. "That was pretty amazing. Using a Titan's innate ability like that… It usually takes years of practice fighting together to gain that level of synchronicity. Not to mention of course," He tipped his head towards the few remaining glimmers of magic. "Your own innate abilities."

The gentle noise of shifting grains alerted them to the approach of the others, as they made their way over. "Good teamwork." Dante murmured, eyes towards the heavens, as unwilling to ruin the spectacle as the others.

That was, save for Tersly.

With a near womanly squeal of excitement, the Irishman pulled out some form of modified Holotome, tipping and tapping at the symbols that came up in a flurry of activity. "Ah! So is _this _that magical curse that we've all heard so much about? I've never seen its like before! What does it do, exactly? That secondary form seemed rather like a Titan Mergence, though powered Bonding like that hasn't been observed for centuries, if fact, most think it never really existed at all-"

"Tersly," The blonde sighed, resisting the urge to rub her temples against the headache she could already feel building at the redhead's presence. "The curse is gone. This magic is my own." Tersly burst into another explosion of ignored questions and bubbling excitement as she tapped the clear skin of her collarbone. She felt Will shift by her side, and without even having to ask, she knew he was remembering the first time he had ever seen those mysterious symbols on her neck, and silently closed the tiny gap between their hands, entwining their fingers to bring him back from the terrible memories, back to her and the here and the now. The softest of pressures against her touch was her answer, her thanks and relief.

Talking over the babbling assistant, Loki turned to raise an eyebrow at the steel-eyed Seeker lounging against the monstrous mutt Titan to her left, the only Titan not yet recalled. "At any rate, Montehue, you've really mastered Fenris. That's fantastic news."

With a booming laugh, the robust explorer hooked his arm around the Norse's neck, rubbing the dog's head with the knuckles of the other. "Ah, he's a good boy, really. Just needs a bit of rough and tumble, that's all." The others watched with fading dubiousness, and warm smiles, as the wolf became a puppy, wriggling with glee and delight at the attention of his master. With a gentle smile, Loki raised her hands towards him and he bounded towards her, his nose snuffling with joy and his ears perking up as he recognised her scent, remembered her.

"I'm glad," She laughed as Fenris butted her, startling her with the chill of his nose. "That he has someone like you."

"-At any rate," The team turned back to Tersly, as the ginger seemed to be winding down on his little ramble, turning to Dante with a wide beam. "Congratulations on finding the Legendary Amulet of Will and the first Legendary Titan, Mr Vale." Unconsciously, the Casterwill felt a hand rise to check the placement of said ancient artefact in the hidden pocket in the lining of his trousers' thigh. "I take it that… we're going after the second one now?"

"That's right." Drawn together by his words, the team plus their new additions- though Loki personally thought it would be a rather temporary alliance- gathered around the Holotome still cradled in Tersly's arms. Waving the blonde to the front to make use of her near eidetic memory, he brought up the map of the area, and had her mark the placement of the Golden Asp, the entrance to the tomb of the sleeping kings. "And it's our guess that it's right down here."

Sharing excited grins, the team packed up their scattered supplies, and headed off, Montehue, Dante and Zhalia walking in front, the older man just that little bit ahead, and the auburn with an indulgent smile on his face that said he had noticed, but done nothing. Behind, their hands still joined, the teens were trying to walk together, but Tersly's insistence in asking questions regarding the mysterious power and the transformation it had allowed, despite Loki's insisting that she knew as little as he. Her hand pulled from Will's as the redhead jostled her impatiently, demanding answers, the brunet paused to watch as they carried on walking after the others, some small worry nagging at her heart and mind, eyes narrowed in thought, till the sour taste in his mouth turned bitter with realisation.

Will knew Loki, knew her hundred little ticks and signs, knew her fake smiles from her true, her polite laugh from her joyful one, could read a simple twist of the wrist, a flicker of the eye, a shift in stance, each slightest movement as a whole secret language that he alone could speak. He could read her and move accordingly, synchronized and matched, like a pair of daggers. So, Will knew that in the past, when Loki said she didn't know why she had this unique magic, when she said she didn't know what it was or what it meant, she was telling the truth.

Only now, as she said the same to Tersly, he knew she was _lying._

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><p>AN: Onwards and upwards! It may seem silly to some to do this for a dog, but I'd like to dedicate this chapter to India, my 8 yr old Labrador. Sleep easy, baby, and know that you will always be missed.<p> 


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